Unintended Consequences

Vacation time is slowly coming to a close, and so I'm trying to squeeze in as much family and friend time as possible. Tonight, my sister and I went to my brother James' house to play Settlers of Catan with him and his two kids, Kai and Raj. At first, my sister Dianne didn't want to play, but the game caught her attention as she watched us play and she finally jumped in. Needless to say, we all had a really great time.

While we were playing, we somehow got onto the topic of church. I noticed this happens quite frequently around me, go figure. My brother mentioned that he's been getting further and further away from the church, and now that this thing happened to me, it only justifies his belief that the church is full of bigots. I tried to explain to him that everyone has flaws and that it's human nature to be divisive, but he had a point. I didn't have a lot of firm ground to stand on, especially in light of what did in fact happen to me because of the church.

I love God and have pretty much always loved God. For most of my life, I have equated this love with loving and caring for and being a part of the church. Is this incorrect? Obviously, I still want to be part of the church: I haven't dropped out of school and fully intend to graduate and become the senior pastor at a cafe church someday, but it is becoming increasingly hard to tell people that attending church is a good thing. A lot of the people there just aren't giving me very much to work with.

So, how do you explain to people that church is a good thing? Do you in fact believe that going to church is a good thing?

I think church is good for us, because as human beings, we are designed to worship God. It's kind of like how cars are designed to run on gas. This "argument" works for me, but I can see how it might not work when looked at from the other side.

How do you tell someone to hang out with a bunch of hypocritical bigots who have relegated someone you love to a level of second class citizenship?

You've got mail

One of the problems that I tend to have when I'm on vacation is that I have a hard time going to bed at a "normal" hour. So, since I've been meaning to blog for a while and I can't sleep, even though it's almost 5 in the morning, I decided to go ahead and write about what's been on my mind for the past few weeks.

This post is about the last blog that I wrote, which was basically a copying and pasting of two letters. The first was a response that someone wrote to me regarding the letter that I wrote to my church and my presbytery to explain to them how I felt about the decisions that they made and to let them know that I was leaving the PCUSA. The second was my response back to that person.

Well, that person wrote back to me pretty quick. That was about 2 weeks ago now. The reply has been sitting in my email this whole time and I've been too afraid to look at it. So many people have hurt me in the last few months, people that were supposed to care about me, that I did not want to risk any more emotional damage, especially at the end of the semester and certainly not right before the holidays. I've been dealing with a lot of crap lately, and I for the time being, I felt that I could push off reading the letter until after the holidays, or at least until after Christmas.

In the meantime, I also got a reply from the presbytery. Since I wasn't going to read the first email, I decided to hold off on reading that one as well.

So, they've been sitting in my inbox this whole time, and I can't stop thinking about them. I probably shouldn't let a couple of emails have this kind of power over me, especially since I haven't even read them yet, but I have read a lot of really hurtful and hateful things in the past couple of weeks, and I feel like I need to limit my exposure. I guess it's kind of like how you should only eat a certain about of tuna per week 'cuz of the mercury? Yes, evil words really are like poison, and the poison doesn't even taste good.

I'll let you all know when I read the letters. I'm not sure exactly when I'm gonna read them, but I'm assuming it won't be too long from now.

In the meantime, happy holidays and I hope you are all surrounded by grace, joy and love. In spite of what's been going on, my friends and family have been really great and I love being around them. It's too bad school starts again in a week. Oh well. Merry Christmas!

Theology, Pharisees and Sex Rights

One of the responses to my letter and my reply:

Hello Charles,

First of all, I'm very sorry that you have experienced pain as a result of our church and presbytery rejecting your theology. We too experience vilification for our sincerely held beliefs and are labeled as "non Christian", "bigots", & "pharisees" by those we love and it is hard to keep in mind that is our theology that is being rejected and not us.

Second this advice or recommendation is coming from me as a friend and not from our church or presbytery. I suggest that you do not leave the PC USA as it will most likely approve the ordination of practicing homosexuals this year or at least in the next 2-4 years. I think all of the mainline denominations will eventually go that route as well. This is unfortunate because all of the fastest growing Christian churches and movements (i.e. Foursquare, Calvary Chapel, Mars Hill, etc) are conservative and take a stand on the Historic Apostolic Christian faith.

My prayer is that the Spirit visits our country so that "sex" will no longer be god and that we will return to the Biblical theology that teaches that sex is a privilege/gift and not a right.

Sincerely,

******

You have no idea how I feel because you are in fact rejecting who I am, not my theology. What I believe and do is inextricably linked to who I am as a gay man. How would you feel if someone thought that you loving your husband or wife was sinful and disgusting? Charles

Leaving PCUSA

This blog has been silent for a while and I feel that I need to give everyone some kind of explanation for that. I have know for some time that I needed to give some kind of response to my church and the presbytery for what they did to me. I knew that anything I wrote here would be inauthentic because I was not ready to address that issue. Well, yesterday, I finally wrote the letter, and I literally sent it minutes ago. I have no idea how they will react to it.

It was not an easy letter to write, and it was harder to share, but for better or worse, here it is:

Dear Word of Life Church of Oxnard and the Santa Barbara Presbytery,

While this communication may not be able to convey to you the incredible sense of betrayal and injustice that has been inflicted upon me, I will nevertheless attempt to help you to understand. I was baptized at First Presbyterian Church of Oxnard shortly after my birth in 1979. This summer, I celebrated my 31^st birthday. For that entire span of time, I have been a member of the Presbyterian Church USA. Never did it cross my mind that I would ever be anything other than Presbyterian for the remainder of my days.

As you know, I am currently in seminary working towards a Masters in Divinity. My intention was to attempt to go through the ordination process in the Santa Barbara Presbytery. I was told almost from the very beginning that this was probably not a wise course of action, but I believed that the denomination I grew up in would have grace enough to see me through the process. Even if the end result was not ordination, as I feared from the beginning it would not be, I had hoped that there would have been some loving, compassionate and Spirit-led discussions along the way.

But, for reasons that I am only beginning to understand, and perhaps never will, this was not meant to be. The support of the congregation I have come to know and love so well was revoked, and the presbytery that I have belonged to all of my life demoted me to second-class citizenship, incapable of ever rising to the office of Presbyterian minister. The reason that all of this happened is because I am gay.

My first inclination was to fight to be allowed to go through the ordination process. This is my church and I believed in what this church professes to stand for. The church that I have thought for so long stood as a wonderful example of a Christian community on Earth suddenly shone a little less bright. I will not demand equality from the PCUSA, when equality is not for the denomination to grant. I came to you, with a vulnerable and open heart and was put to the side, and so I am forced to kick the dust from my feet.

It is God, the maker of heaven and Earth that gives me my identity, purpose and meaning, not the PCUSA. As a child of God and a member of the priesthood of all believers, I cannot ignore God’s call to do kingdom work here on Earth. I refuse to participate in the demonic paradigm that pits neighbor against neighbor, promoting hatred and injustice. Instead, I will strive to be an active participant in the Kingdom of God on Earth, here and now. I will not ask for your permission to do God’s work, because it is not your permission to give. I only pray that someday, you will cease your pharisaic judgments against your neighbors and join me in a new community based on love, respect and equality, led by Christ, fed by the Holy Spirit, and in communion with God the Father.

Please accept this as formal notification of my withdrawal from the PCUSA. If you have any questions or concerns about what I have communicated, please feel free to contact me via email. I hope that someday, we can put our differences aside and come together as a family again. Until that day comes, I will keep you in my prayers and I will never stop loving you.

Sincerely,

Charles Furio Wei

Montgomery Chapel

I kept meaning to take pictures of the beautiful stain glass windows in Montgomery Chapel, but I kept forgetting my camera. Well, today I finally remembered it! For anyone that's visited me and was unable to see the windows because the chapel was locked, this is for you:

A picture of the nice details on the ceiling.

I really like when the light comes through this window right and the glass disperses the light on the wall like a bunch of sparks. XD

Colorado: Good for Families

Here's another story I wrote for my contemplative listening class. I didn't realize how emotional this story was going to make me while I was going through the contemplative listening process with my small group. I share this at the risk of my dad seeing it. If you are reading this, Dad, please read it all the way to the end and know that I love you very much. The past is the past, and no one's childhood is perfect. I love you for who you are now and that is what is important.

For everyone else, here is a peek into my psyche:

I don’t have a lot of fond memories of my dad from when I was little. He was an impatient, angry man, short-tempered and extremely stubborn. I was afraid of him, as were my two brothers, and my sister. My brother James and I bore the brunt of it: me because I was the oldest, and James because he was the troublemaker. I like to tell people that I was the guinea pig for my parents, that they made all of their mistakes on me.

I tell you this because there is one particular memory of my father that will surface from time to time, not necessarily prompted by anything specific, just a memory that I find myself going back to. It’s probably the earliest memory I have of actually enjoying time with my dad.

When I was little, I was really bad about doing my homework. My teachers would always be sending notes home with me to let my parents know that I had yet again not done the homework for the class. This would typically result in my dad belting me. But, one time, and I’m not sure why this time was different, instead of getting mad, he decided to help me.

I was supposed to write a five page state report, and I had chosen Colorado because I wanted to do a report about the Grand Canyon. Of course, I eventually found that the Grand Canyon is not in Colorado. The report was already a few days late. The memories are vague, but I remember my dad looking at the encyclopedia entry for Colorado, trying to find random facts for me to add to the report while I flipped through magazines for pictures to cut out. I think I actually ended up drawing most of them because I couldn’t find pictures for the Colorado state bird, tree or flower.

The thing I remember most is sitting with my dad, and actually enjoying his company, wondering why he was being so nice. It almost wasn’t real and I remember wondering why our relationship couldn’t be more like that moment instead of what it was usually like, like when I would hug him and pretend I was happy when he came back from his business trips. That’s the only memory I have like that of my dad, and maybe that’s why I always come back to it. I have a great relationship with my dad now. I just sometimes wish I had more good memories to go along with it.

Growing Up Gay Just North of L.A.

This is National Coming Out Week. In celebration of this week, we had special chapel services and I was supposed to give a testimony for today's service. I decided to write a poem that kind of sums up everything I've been going through the past few months. This is my journey:

Growing Up Gay Just North of L.A.

Welcome to my life.

A life of half-truth and darkness,

Where the light dares not shine,

For shame.

Because I have been taught to be ashamed of myself,

Because my parents have learned to despise me.

Because the people cry out,

“Abomination!”

“Those who sin in the eyes of God,

They shall surly burn in the fires of Hell for all eternity!”

Why wait?

I can feel the fire now,

Growing inside of me,

Red hot with indignation,

Crying out for vengeance,

Raging against the injustice!

A creature of hatred and shame,

I have become the monster they so want for me to be,

A crooked mirror that can’t help but do what it was designed to do,

To reflect back a broken image,

A relationship broken,

A people divided,

Because we are all God’s children,

United in our belief that we are better than the other,

Because my light is better than yours,

And we will let our righteousness burn the fuel of our existence,

Until all that is left are the charred remains of a once promising future.

But, I have seen a different kind of light,

The light of open doors and stained glass windows,

Burning with a flame that moves us to embrace each other,

And squeeze so hard it almost hurts.

A fire that keeps us going,

A fire for the living,

For life,

For love.

So, I choose to burn with the love of Christ,

I will shine with the love of God’s good creation,

And I will light a new kind of fire,

And draw everyone around me with a beacon of hope!

I welcome you in!

Welcome to my life!

The Baptism of Christ

The mosaic is progressing a lot faster than I thought it was going to. Here are some pictures of the work so far.

Now, I have to admit that I have not been as diligent with my homework as I should have been, and this has largely contributed to the speed at which the mosaic has gone up. But, working on the mosaic has been cathartic, and I need really need some kind of creative expression that I can lose myself in right now. Life has been... unexpectedly difficult of late. I've found it really hard to focus on classwork lately, and I've even had to drop one class because of this. I'll be able to focus more on myself this semester, which is important for me to do at this point in my life. I don't know yet where my life is going, but that's okay.

I talked to a counselor for the first time in my life. I don't have anything against counseling, but I've never felt that I've needed it. It was good though, because I realized I was trying to rush through this period of mourning and reflection. So, I will not try to cram my schedule full of things that help me to avoid periods of quiet thought. Instead, the work on the mosaic will continue.

The tile glue has to cure for a day or so, and then I can grout it! I'll put up a before and after picture once the grout is on!

Truck Stop Cafe

I had to write a story for my contemplative listening class, about something that happened to me over the summer. This is what I came up with. I hope none of you think less of me...

This summer, my mom and I went on a road trip across the country. One day, we found ourselves in the tiny town of White Sulfur Springs, MT. We asked the gas station attendant, my first experience with full-service gas by the way, where we could grab a bite to eat. He directed us to the Truck Stop Café, the only place open because it was after 6.

It was a half-block away and there were only two other cars in the parking lot. We went inside where the waitress/hostess greeted us with her dead eyes. The only other people in the café were the cook, who was leaning on the counter, watching us as we walked by, and three men in the back, all wearing slightly grungy looking clothes and talking about farming. I could tell they were regulars by their demeanor. They give us a cursory glance before returning to their food and conversation. My mom and I were the only non-Caucasians there, and I wondered when the last time an Asian person crossed the threshold of the restaurant. I began to wonder if we are the only non-Caucasians in town.

We followed the tall waitress with curly blonde hair to a booth. She looked like she was in her early twenties, doing her best to keep up with pop culture with her black T-shirt with day-glo logo and pierced bottom lip. After handing us our menus, she asked in a monotone, “Can I get you folks anything to drink?” We were “folks.” That was good, right?

We both ordered waters and then bent our heads over the menu when she left to get them. I pointed out the polish sausage soup to my mom and we both laughed.

My mom’s phone rang. She answered. Not only was I thinking about how rude it was to talk on your phone in a restaurant, I knew she was about to go full bore Filipino with her rapid-fire Tagolog. I became acutely aware my “Asianess” and the men in the back of the restaurant. I knew they could hear my mom talking, and if I had to guess, were each in their own minds trying to figure out, and failing, what language she was speaking. I wanted to tell her to get off the phone, but I figured she would have the common decency to end the conversation on her own. She proceeded to talk for a good five minutes or so, ending the conversation shortly before the waitress came back to take our order. I, in the meantime, was actively trying to suppress my fight or flight response.

We tried to make small talk while we waited for our food, and a few minutes later, a family of five came in. I could tell by their dress and their accent that they were from out of town. And, I relaxed.

Letter from the New Zealanders

I'm sorry to be such a downer today, but I just got an email from the church in New Zealand that I was hoping to intern at. They are no longer interested in having me as an intern because they do not believe homosexuals should be in leadership. Here is the email:

Hi Charles,

I have been concerned for some time as to why we did not seem to be getting a very clear picture of who you were either from you or your referee and we were considering setting up a skype interview. I guess this explains something and I am glad you have told me about this. Unfortunately it does make a difference. Our church’s stand here is that homosexuals are not able to be in leadership. As far as we are concerned it would make things very difficult and we have so much going on for us in terms of our ministry already that this is just not a consideration for next year. I am also now planning on taking study lave from June to August so chances are coming here would not have worked out very well for you.

I am sorry this is unfortunate. We do have a couple of young men in our congregation who believe they are gay and this is ok with us so don’t think we are hardened towards you it’s just it just wouldn’t work out.

We will have to leave it there.

Helen

I guess it's all for the better because I need to find a new church to sponsor me for ordination, and it would probably be difficult for me to develop a relationship with a new church from the other side of the planet. I guess I'm just the world's punching bag today.

Letter from the Santa Barbarians

And now, since you have all been waiting so anxiously, the response from the Santa Barbara Presbytery as to whether or not they will let me attempt ordination through them:

Dear Charles,

I am writing in response to your email of September 19, in which you informed me of the decision of your session to withdraw their support of your coming under care of the presbytery, and in which you asked for my opinion on whether the presbytery would entertain taking you under care if you came to us with support from another church. I informed you that I would take the matter up with the Committee on Preparation for Ministry (CPM) for an answer,

The committee met on September 23 and discussed your question at some length. In addition to your email, we had information which I obtained from a personal meeting with the Word of Life Session, and with Pastor Ron Urzua. I believe I/we received the same basic information from all three sources. Specifically, the session is unwilling to endorse you for possible ordination to the ministry of Word and Sacrament because you consider an active gay lifestyle to be an acceptable expression of righteous behavior according to the teachings of scripture and our confessions. The session disagrees with your theological position on this matter, and considers it important enough to constitute a disqualification for ordained office in the PCUSA. We understand that this decision has been disappointing and hurtful.

I have gone into the above detail because I wanted to be sure we all agree on the basis for your session’s decision, as you are asking, in effect, if the presbytery would come to the same decision. The committee’s answer is based upon the assumption that we all agree on these facts. If that is not the case, our answer may not adequately address your question.

Based upon the above, it is the opinion of the current CPM of this presbytery that we would consider your theological position on this matter to be outside the bounds of Reformed theology as we understand it in light of Scripture and our confessions. We would refer you specifically to sections 4.087 and 9.47 of our Book of Confessions, and Chapter G-6-0106b of our Book of Order. There are a multitude of scripture passages in support of these references.

Having said that, we must express our reluctance to make such a statement to a brother in Christ with whom we are not in close relationship. Our entire life as believers is to be lived within a particular expression of the body of Christ. It is within that context that we come to know Christ, ourselves and each other. Word of Life is that body for you, and we encourage you to hold close to it and not abandon that relationship. Scripture tells us that “Better is open rebuke than love that is concealed. Faithful are the wounds of a friend, and deceitful are the kisses of an enemy.” (Pr 27:5-6) We pray that you will devote sufficient time and energy to discern whether your church – those closest to you in Christ – may be your best friend in this matter.

In Christ, and for the committee.

Robert Farrow

Clerk of the Committee on Preparation for Ministry

Presbytery of Santa Barbara

Basically, they do not want me to seek ordination, lest I profess my heretic, and more importantly disgusting, theological stance with people that might consider me to be some kind of authority on the subject in the future should I in fact become ordained. The email doesn't exactly answer my question though, does it? Very tricky...

Spirituality Concentration

My presbytery met on Thursday, and one of the things that they were supposed to discuss was whether or not I would be able to attempt to go through the ordination process there or if I would need to find a new presbytery. I haven't received word yet.

In the meantime, I have gotten permission to make a mosaic at Holy Grounds. I am doing a spirituality concentration as part of my degree, and we have to do a semester of spirituality practice and reflection and I got permission to do this art project for it. Here are some of the sketches.

Christina took some pictures while I was working.

Here's what it looks like so far. I'll keep you updated on the progress, and also if I ever hear back from my presbytery.

Blog Fog

Okay, I keep messing up with this thing. I guess the one day a week thing isn't working. Earlier this week, I wanted to blog, but I told myself I needed to wait for Saturday. Now, it's Saturday but I was too busy today to blog. I guess I need to get rid of the idea that this is going to follow any kind of regular format now that I no longer blog every day. I guess I'll just blog as I feel led to, but it will probably still be at least once a week, just not on a specific day. I also realized that I've been forgetting to import my blogs to facebook. Oops.

Here's an update for those that don't know. The session of my church, after meeting with the representative from the Committee on the Preparation for Ministry in my presbytery of Santa Barbara (I just accidentally wrote Satan instead of Santa. Freudian slip?), has decided that they can no longer sponsor me during the ordination process. Please note that I am not saying that the CPM representative instructed the session to do this, I am only indicating the timeline of events. The session feels that because I am an unrepentant homosexual and that I do no believe it is wrong to be a homosexual, that our theologies are diametrically opposed and that they could not in good faith support by bid to become a Presbyterian minister. In order to go though the ordination process, you need to be sponsored by the church you are a member of. So, although they are not technically kicking me out of the church, I am forced to leave if I wish to pursue ordination. I'm pretty sure that if the PCUSA denomination at large were to decide that being gay was okay in the eyes of God, then the congregation might leave. This is the group that was holding the confessions of the denomination over my head as one of the reasons that I should not be gay. I don't want to get into the logic of it all, but it seems very hypocritical to me.

I'll write more about this when I can get all of my thoughts in order. At the moment, I'm waiting for a response from my presbytery about whether or not I should waste my time trying to get ordained in the Santa Barbara Presbytery. I sent the email days ago but have yet to get a response. Life has just gotten very interesting, and I am currently trying to recover emotionally from what happened. Please keep me, Word of Life Presbyterian Church of Oxnard, Santa Barbara Presbytery and the PCUSA in your prayers. We need it.

Oops I did it again

Sorry for the Britney reference, but I totally forgot to blog yesterday! And, last week, for anyone that was paying attention, I was freaking out because I thought I blogged 3 hours late, because I was so exhausted I thought it was Sunday morning. Of course, it was actually Saturday morning and not late at all. *sigh* I don't know if I'm ever gonna get used to this new format that I've given myself.

Now: Learning the Greek alphabet. Not so bad. Thems memory cells seem to be in fine working order after a summer of being on the go. We'll see how the grammar goes. Grammar is basically my Kryptonite.

First week of school is over. Usually when I'm starting a new year of school, I'm good at doing my assignments right away. Not so much this time. I'm barely getting to my homework now. Why oh why did God make me a procrastinator?

MAGIC!!!!!!!

Okay, I totally forgot about my blog today. There was a lot of stuff going on and I'm not used to this blogging on Saturdays thing. There was a welcome week party at Trinity house this evening, the intentional Christian community house, our school's version of a frat house, where there was food and wine and singing and much connect four playing. We had a grand old time.

As I was playing connect four, and losing, with one of the new first years, named Daniel, we discovered our mutual love of the Magic: The Gathering, that wonderful collectible card game that I've mentioned once or twice on this blog. Daniel just happened to bring a ton of Magic decks with him to school, so we made a quick escape to Holy Grounds and dueled it out until 3 in the morning. The last game, which lasted probably about an hour, was one of those truly epic games that only a Magic player can understand, so I won't bore you with the details here.

Thus far, the new students seem like a really really great bunch and I can't wait to see what they have to bring to our school community. All I can say is that I need to get ready for another awesome year at SFTS!

To write or not to write

OMG! I almost forgot to blog today! This new schedule is going to take some getting used to.

I've basically had no schedule this week, especially since I decided to no longer do a daily blog. The first three nights this week, I had to actually remind myself to not blog. I thought this would help me get other things done, like my book perhaps. Not so much.

I like to write, really I do, but lately it's just been so hard to sit down and work on it. The frustrating part is that I am SO close to finishing! I probably only have about 70 pages to go! I even managed to bang out 2 chapters during the road trip! I totally thought I'd be able to get at least another chapter done this week. I've only managed to write a paltry 4 pages. I sometimes wonder if I should set a specific schedule for myself, like I'm gonna work on my book from this time to this time every day, but I don't want it to become a chore. Plus, I highly doubt I'd be able to stick to a schedule like that.

Hopefully, when school starts and I get back on some kind of schedule, I'll actually start writing again. It's kind of ironic, but I think that's how it's gonna work. I'm starting to wonder if the book is God's plan for getting me out of debt. Wouldn't that be cool!

Day 372 (The Day After)

So, it's the day after the road trip. We went far! I'm not sure exactly how many miles I put on poor Hammie, but it was over 10,000 miles. Here is the basic route we took, courtesy of my friend Carly:

It was weird being home after over 2 months on the road. I hardly knew what to do with myself. I finally watched the Joan of Arcadia DVD that I've been waiting to watch for all this time and I had some good catching up time with some friends. I have a week left here before I need to head back to school and I'm hoping to make some good headway on my book before then. In that vein, since I've been doing this blog once a day, every day, I think it's time to change the format. While I've enjoyed doing the blog, it's kind of morphed into something I didn't expect it too. It's kind of been taking over my life in that everything I do, I'm always analyzing it in terms of, "Does this need to go into the blog? Would people think this is interesting? I need to get some good pictures for the blog." It's like I'm always kind of removed from the situation because I'm behaving more as an observer than a participant.

So, I've decided that from now on, until it changes, this will be a weekly blog. I will make it part of my Saturday Sabbath, more of introspective on the week rather than a report on things that have been going on. We'll see how it works. Bye for now, see you on Saturday!

Day 371 (Gem Mining)

Last day of the road trip, which also happens to be my birthday! My family and I went to a tourmaline mine in Pala, CA to try to find some precious gems.

Here's my loot! The people there told me that the big pink one in the upper right is worth $40.00 to $50.00!

PICTURE OF tHE DAY: My dad found a really nice one, too! His is on the left. Raw like this, we were told it's worth about $100.00. If he gets it cut right, it could be worth over $700.00!!! Holy Moly!!!

Day 370 (San Diego Zoo)

It was so great hanging out with my family today; I always have so much fun with them. As planned, we went to the San Diego Zoo today. What was unplanned was the long walk to get there. My mom and I had explored the area around the zoo yesterday, and we assumed that it was somewhere nearby, so we just drove to the same parking lot that we went to yesterday. It wasn't all that far, but the zoo was at the opposite end of the complex, almost a mile away, with its own parking lot. We didn't figure this out until we were at the halfway point, so we ended up walking there. We also ended up eating way too much food today, so it was probably a good thing we had to walk so much. Here are the pictures I took on our way there.

From left to right: my dad, my nephew Raj, my brother James, my nephew Kai and my brother Brian.

And of course, pictures of the animals:

From left to right: my dad, my mom, my brother James, my sister Dianne, my newphew Kai.

PICTURE OF THE DAY: This is a happy hippo.