So here we are. It's been a week and half since I arrived here in Durham. Kimi and the kids arrived the next day. I had a great trip out here driving the truck with my friends from Yucaipa - a group of guys I've been trying to disciple over the last six plus years. It was seriously a fun time. Almost every day was at least 500 miles, with only one exception - our short day of 350 miles. We stayed overnight in St. John's, AZ at my dad's place. It was great to see him and his newly opened restaurant. I'm happy for him, but I hope he doesn't work himself too hard. The next night was Erick, OK - which is just inside the Oklahoma state line. We had dinner that night in Amarillo, TX, and the guys were determined to get out of Texas as fast as we could. So we went another 100 miles and stopped in Erick that night. The next day we headed out to Little Rock, AK. Little Rock is a cool city, I really liked it. Plus we got to see some lightning that night, so that was cool. The next night was on to one of the guys' uncle's house in Nashville, TN. It was great to be in a real home with a home cooked meal. They were extremely gracious and we had a good time playing Rock Band on the xbox360. We got up really early the next day in order to get to Durham somewhere around 4pm. I had to meet the real estate lady at my house to get the key. So we were on the road by about 6am, and had a few hundred miles behind us by lunch. We made it to Durham in time, and after heading out to dinner, we spent the rest of the night unloading the truck.
The guys stayed for a few days while we explored the area, played some disc golf, and just hung out talking. My mom arrived with Kimi and the girls and she was able to stay for a week as well. It was nice to have her here, tough to say goodbye. She'll be back again in November hopefully.
So far we love the neighborhood God has placed us in. We have a great home, and some really nice neighbors. Hannah has already met a bunch of kids to play with. Our housing development has a lake, a pool, tennis courts, a fitness center, and walking paths all throughout. I haven't got to fish yet, but as soon as they'll let me get a resident's license, I'll be there. We continue to pray that God will connect us with the right people at the right times. It's a bit overwhelming to know that we are trying to start this church from scratch, but it's exciting at the same time. I can't wait to see where God takes us!
