Paintball was a blast

So many war stories and memories. One thing I learned; never borrow a church van without checking to see if the registration is still valid. The people at Camp Pendleton didn't like that fact. So the van sat outside the gates as we shuttled people in.

Memories... I saw fathers connect with sons and I saw a father connect with his daughter. I saw leaders and pastors connect with kids and I saw friends connect deeper with each other. 37 people in all came out from multiple churches. Some have never been to a a church.

My highlight was the fact I was able to bring my neighbor. My neighbor is 22 years old and has lived next door to me for about a year. A few months back I finally learned his name and have been looking for ways to connect. We run into each other once in awhile and the conversation is always good but brief. Never had I had an opportunity like this, and so I asked him to paintball. It was his first time and we carpooled together. We started the day at 6:30am and ended at 6pm which gave us plenty of time to get to know each other better. He loved it! Our story will continue as we have more context to rely upon. He will be at Howie's Game night and I won't be surprised if I'm the one driving.

Project Hangout works because it gives you chances to connect on a personal level in a way that can only happen when the body of Christ mobilizes to work together to create something bigger than itself. Thanks to everyone that made paintball happen.

Pictured above: The Collins Duo

"We didn’t know anybody going in, the group was all inclusive and we didn’t feel like strangers at all and we had a super time. Philip and I look forward to doing it again." - Gordon, on how he and his son enjoyed paintball.