Vegas Blog - Day 4 - Part 2

Miles: 1286.4
Gallons Burned: 29.7
Elvis Sightings: 11
Total Miles: 15922.6
Total Gallons Burned: 530.4
Total Caffeinated Drinks: 90
Total Gigabytes of Pictures: 33.77

So like I said we got on the bus to Fremont Street (about a 18 minute ride). The buses were clean and you could tell they were all freshly mopped due to the inevitable mess created by inebriated late-night passengers.
Par and I sat on the second level of the bus. Par had just made an observation about the lack economic development in the space between Fremont Street and "The Strip". I changed the subject by drawing a parallel between the people we had seen so far and the run-down appearance of the City.
Whenever I enter a new town, church, restaurant, bank, home, or grocery story I first tactically evaluate the environment (search for concealed weapons, chart the quickest escape route, identify any police), second evaluate the people (are they emotionally unstable, are they generally happy, are they hopeful, are they uneasy, etc.), and third look for the angles. I'm not saying that this is the right way to approach a new situation, I'm only saying it's what I automatically do (you can imagine how fast my mind was working in the highly secure casinos). So anyways I told Par that I noticed a general sense of unhappiness in Vegas. Walking down the street I noticed very few people who were smiling (maybe 1 in 20), and quite a few who looked genuine irked (about 1 in 5). He said he hadn't noticed. I continued that it felt worse that Seattle in the middle of winter when no one has seen the sun in 50-60 days and depression peaks. I wondered aloud why in a place where the sun is ever-present people were so unhappy, Par thought it might have something to do with the money-centric idolatry that is constantly exposed when people lose at a casino.
My mind then jumped to roses. A young lady in the seat in front of us had a dozen blood-red roses. I asked Par what the colors of roses meant. He didn't know. So I, the rude out-of-towner, asked her what the color's meant; she graciously shared that red=romantic love, yellow=friendship, peach=sympathy, and pink=gratitude.
I congratulated her on the dozen red roses and the affection they implied; blushing she said a client from her job at the Aria C&H had given her the roses. She then asked me to explain why I thought Las Vegas folks seemed depressed (she must have overheard my conversation with Par), and mocked me politely when I revealed that I was staying at Circus Circus (the worst fancy Casino Hotels according to locals). With my pride pricked Par piped up by asking how old she was and then if he looked liked Elvis (I had been keeping track of all the Elvis impersonators and Par thought he should count as the Sikh version of Elvis). She again politely told him that she was 22, and he didn't look like Elvis. Then she said turning to me, "But he has Johnny Depp's eyes." I immediately said, "No. No. Brown is just brown" trying to hide my embarrassment. So my one interaction with a real native Las Vegan ended awkwardly as I said, "Nice to have met you" and got off the bus with Par.

Aside number two:
This short encounter relates to something that I have been convicted of as of this Sunday. Pastor Mark as he preached through Luke 11 asked, "Where do you believe that if you ask for something good that God will punish or hurt you?" A strange question don't you agree? I was immediately hit in the gut. I was convicted that I have not asked God for a wife because I fear that he will curse me, hurt me, bringing death and horror to my (future) wife, my (future) kids, and myself. That's pretty jacked up, huh? By not asking God for a wife, I am basically saying that I don't functionally believe that God is good.
That nice, polite young lady was used by God to convict me that I don't trust him. I could have asked her to join us for dinner or asked for her contact info, but I chose not to.
End Aside

Par and I picked out three more Elvis impersonators bringing the total to 11. We returned to the Fremont Street buffet place for a second meal and reveled in all-you-can-eat prime rib again (only $11.99!!). Derek, Roland, Par and I caught some live music and headed back to Circus Circus. I stayed out later (since this was my last night in Vegas). I walked 10 miles up and down the Strip alone spending time with God, and looking the porn huckster's in the eye as I passed them. Half of them looked away, the other half met my gaze with glazed emptiness. I prayed for them that hope and knowledge of life would reach them. Then I slept.

Vegas Blog - Day 4

Miles: 1286.4
Gallons Burned: 29.7
Elvis Sightings: 8
Total Miles: 15922.6
Total Gallons Burned: 530.4
Total Caffeinated Drinks: 90
Total Gigabytes of Pictures: 33.75

Sunday. We woke up late and debated what to do for about an hour. We eventually when to a nearby Krispy Kreme. After eating donuts and talking about the regulative principle. Oh man! Not again! Alright let's have another digression:

So "what is the regulative principle?" you ask. Well you'll be sorry you asked, that's for sure! Some Reformed Christians believe that in the Bible the New Covenant Church grants many freedoms including the limited contextualization of the gospel (see Acts 17:16-34). But some really reformed folks (including Derek, Rolando, and Par - please correct me if I am misrepresenting you) believe that when it comes to worship, only the existing songs in the Bible are legit to sing. Also only instrument that existed during the time period of the Bible are acceptable. In my opinion this is akin to some White guy going to my ancestral land of India and telling some rural village of Gujarati folks, "Ok now that you love Jesus you need to get an electric Guitar, some tattoos, where are your cigarettes...you're not wearing black. What kind of Christians are you??" (The cigarettes, obsession with black, tattoos, and instruments are all cultural norms at my church of Mars Hill in Seattle) To mandate the way that people respond to God is lame. The precise reason that the Spirit-led gospel has had such a huge impact is that it is soo adaptable. I think imposing a 2000 year-old cultural standard is foolish and not respectful of the amazing diversity of God's image-bearers.

Sorry, you probably didn't want to know any of that. Anyway, after the donuts and dialogue we walked up to see more fancy Casino Hotels. New York, New York is a ridiculous C&H. It features the Brooklyn Bridge, Empire State building, Statue of Liberty, and a roller coaster that travels from the outside into the Casino. Excalibur is styled after a fairytale castle complete with turrets and a drawbridge. Luxor is a C&H that is truly one of a kind. It is a huge obsidian pyramid and attached sphinx. Inside there is a triangular prism room. To access the hotel rooms you use four Inclinators. These fancy elevators travel at a 39 degree angle up the corners of the pyramid. The MGM Grand is indeed grand. This C&H is based on the Wizard of Oz. You enter on the yellow brick road and are greeted by a lion in his glass-cased environment. It boasts the most rooms of any hotel in the world: 6,852!!
Following our wind-swept 95 degree heat walk we jumped on a bus to venture down to Fremont Street again...