Job Search

That was the theme of this past week... the job search. And, oh, how fun it is! I spent hours online submitting my resume and searching for jobs and also applied at 6 restaurants. Have I heard back from any of those efforts? Um... no. Right now definitely isn't the time to be looking for a job, but you've got to try, right? I should be completely stressing out, and I admit that I have my moments of panic, but the Lord has been so good in keeping me calm and focused on the fact that He alone can provide. I trust He will.

So, since last week's search was seemingly unsuccessful (obviously the Lord has other plans), I decided to pursue extra work full-time. I wasn't sure I'd be able to make enough money to pay the bills while just doing extra work, but after talking to a friend currently doing full-time extra work, I think it's possible to live off of it! I'm really excited about this because I really do enjoy doing extra work and just being there in the industry. I signed up with Extras Management which is a calling service that books extra work for you so that you don't have to call in and book yourself. This will be EXTREMELY helpful to me because it's really frustrating to try to call in and book yourself. Example... one time I called over 300 times getting a busy signal and when I finally got through the jobs were already filled. Not fun. It's also not fun that Extras Management will cost me $75/ month. Again... it'll be worth it. I hope.

I also met up with a new friend that I was connected to by Katlin Miller (pronounced Cat-lin... not Kate-lin. Get it right or pay the price... $200). Katlin is a friend of mine from high school and my roommate freshman year at Samford. He moved out to LA for a year after our freshman year and met a girl named Aubrey while he was here, so he connected us. I met up with her and a few of her friends at her church (Grace Community Church), which will probably become my new church home. It's where John MacArthur preaches, and when I told my parents where I was they were so excited. John MacArthur is my dad's favorite pastor, so he and my mom were so excited that his church is right up the road! It definitely makes them feel better knowing that I'll have a church home that practices solid, Biblical preaching.

Anyway. It was so good to meet up with Aubrey and her friends! They are extremely sincere and fun, and we had a great time hanging out and getting to know each other. I'm looking forward to hanging out with them quite a bit and building some good relationships out here. It's been fun to start building a community out here.

I also got the chance to meet up with Joel Davis who is a friend of mine from Samford and UCF (University Christian Fellowship... our college ministry) who is now living with his wife in South Pasadena. He really is one of the nicest guys ever, and it was such an encouragement to talk with him about his current experience and what the Lord is doing in both of our lives through the move out west. I'm excited to see how God uses him. He's one of the most talented musicians I've ever known. I have a feeling there's big things ahead for him. I actually attended his church in San Marino on Sunday night and really enjoyed the tight-knit community they're building there. It's a bit too far for me to want to make it my home church, but it'll definitely be a place I want to go every once-in-a-while to reconnect with the people there.

Though it could have been a somewhat frustrating and discouraging week, God was so faithful in providing people and advice at the perfect time to help me refocus on the Lord and His goodness. My experience out here thus far has been completely different than I had expected, but I have consistently felt a calm and a peace about being here. I really don't have any idea where the Lord is leading me or what He wants me to do yet, but all I can do at this point is take small steps in the direction I feel He's leading. It's the most exciting and difficult test of faith I've ever been through, but I know He's growing me in ways I could have never grown.

All this to say... God is good.

Alright. Hopefully I'll be busy with 12 hour days on set doing extra work on random shows (hopefully some feature films!). I still haven't seen any of the shows that I've worked on yet, so it'll be funny whenever that happens. Keep praying that the Lord will provide some great opportunities and continue introducing me to wonderful friends. I appreciate the prayers more than you know! I miss all of you back in B'ham, and I hope to make it back sometime soon. Not sure what "soon" means yet, but we'll see.

Robby