Welcome to the Desert!

This is from an email I wrote on 7/27; I'll update again soon. :)

July 27th:


Well, I can't believe that I've already been here in Chandler for a whole week! It's gone by so quickly!

My parents and I drove out here from Kansas (I followed my dad in my car the whole way). We left on the 17th and got here last Sunday afternoon. It was a pretty decent drive through lots of desert and flat land. The day before we got to Chandler, however, we had to come down through some mountains. Well, it's monsoon season in Arizona, so they get these weird rainstorms this time of year. As we were driving through the mountains in the rain and hail, my driver's side windshield wiper broke. My parents were driving in front of me, but it was raining so hard that they didn't notice I'd stopped. We were driving down the mountain, so they were very worried about me after awhile. The rain eventually slowed down, they came back up and found me, and we continued driving in the light rain with frequent stops to wipe off the windshield. We got to the next town and a guy happened to still be working at an auto parts store. He graciously fixed my windshield wiper.

I moved in here and got settled last Sunday. I also was able to spend a little bit of time hanging out with Joy and Michael before they left. The rest of the week was spent on staff retreat with all of the staff from the church and school. It was a great way to get to know people and we went through the book, Captivating, which was very good. I got to jump in and lead worship for the retreat, as well as share a little bit during a worship time. We got back on Wednesday evening in time for worship team practice and Thursday was my first day in the office. Friday and Saturday I had off, but Saturday was filled with getting last minute things ready for Sunday worship that kind of got overlooked with the transition between interns. Today was my installation at all 4 services and everything worked out well for the two services I help lead. I almost had to play guitar for one service which really scared me, but they found someone at the last minute. Phew. This evening was my first full evening with the senior high youth and it was cool to start to get to know them. I can tell that they're already becoming at ease around me and vice versa.

When I got here last Sunday, they had a basket of "Arizona necessities" waiting for me on my table from the youth group with a note that said "look in the fridge." I wrote on my bio that I sent to the church, that I like Dr. Pepper and they filled the whole bottom of my fridge with Dr. Pepper...cans, bottles, 2 Ltrs...the works! Amazing! I've been so blessed by people here already.

In other news...it's hot. So hot, but the humidity is considerably less here. No worries, though, I have 2 pools to cool off at. My apartment is awesome and it's already beginning to feel like home with pictures on the walls and such. I have wireless here, so that's really nice. I also recently got texting, so it's my newest hobby. :) All the help I can get with communication is welcomed--the 2 hour time difference is challenging enough. When Daylight Savings comes, however, I'll only be an hour different from Central time. Arizona doesn't do a time change. Amazing! :D

Things are really picking up here, though. I'm already getting into the full swing of things and I know it's only going to keep picking up. It's very exciting to be out here--there's so much going on and it's always growing! Any and all prayers are appreciated! :D