Back in Arizona...

I am back in sunny Arizona...I think I missed most of the heat...it is still warm, but cool enough to enjoy being outdoors! As much as I miss the cool weather and amazing people back east, it is nice to be home too (and out of the car!).

Brooke and I had a crazy week driving across country...it was so much fun. New York City and Chicago are both awesome places, but the atmosphere of the two were both so different. It was so much fun to see the difference between the two cities. Not just the physical difference, but the difference in personalities, paces, and style. Chicago as a whole was so much more laid back then New York...but both places were fun and we met some great people during our travels (In case ya'll didn't already know this...Brooke is a people magnent).

I think the biggest shocker for the week was Kansas City. I never imagined there being such a big inner city in Missouri. I saw more homeless people in the one day I was in Kansas City then in the three days I was in New York and Chicago combined. But it was so encouraging...I was able to meet the pastors of Brook's church, Solomon's Porch, and it was incredible to me how much they are giving to the community. They are feeding the homeless, providing clothes, food, shelter, day care for single moms, a youth center for the kids and teens to hang out in after school and on weekends...but most of all they are pouring out an incredible amount of God's unconditional love. I could have sat and listened to those pastors talk forever about their passion for reaching Kansas City. I love seeing how God is moving the entire body of Christ to meet the needs of this world. Dale, I love what you said in your comment on my last post, "I do think there is something in the kingdom of God that causes the spread of His people. I don't think it an accident that the apostles didn't die in a group but alone and on mission." I love when...on my journey...I am able to cross paths for even a short while and meet people who are, "on mission"...just reminds, encourages, and empowers me to stay on mine.