I am determined to write down my thoughts and memories of my recent Arizona trip, but I have been so awash in emotions and so physically busy since I got back that I have not had the time to actually put pen to paper (or fingers to keyboard). And then, I see that my friend and fellow leader Evan McElrath (http://www.realevanmcelrath.com/blog/) has done an excellent job of recapping just about everything, and I was tempted to let his posts speak for the trip.
But then I got thinking. The Bible has four Gospels that tell essentially the same story, each one for a unique purpose and from a unique perspective. If the Bible has room for "duplicate" stories just to show various perspectives, certainly the web has room for a duplicate AZ story. Besides, we weren't at the same place all of the time. Maybe my perspective would look a little different.
Just because I am doing my own, though, does not mean that I will not steal a bit from Evan. You see, the title of this post is actually quoting one of Evan's tweets. What is funny is that I could see why his post is so true, so I just decided to run with it. So without any further ado, here is my Arizona trip summary.
Monday-- "On the Road Again"-- Willie Nelson
This trip is the final long roadtrip out of three for me from the past two and a half weeks. You see, we had been to the Colorado River (5 hours each way) for the weekend of July 30. We moved our trailer to a new facility and took the girls back to their mom. Then, the following Tuesday, we left for Las Vegas to support my lovely wife Christine during a work trip. We got back on Friday the 6th of August. So for me, leaving on Monday for another long drive was just me getting "on the road again."
Fortunately, I had some great company. We used our truck as a cargo van/ extra seats, so I had Evan, Kaitlin, Zach, and Shelby in the car. While Evan provided the soundtrack for the trip (nice job, by the way), the others in the back seat definitely provided the in-car entertainment. I think Evan and I spent much of the drive either laughing or shaking our heads at what was coming from the back seat.
At our stop in Blythe for gas and lunch, Rachel and Evan invited me to go with them to Las Casitas Dos, a little hole-in-the-wall Mexican food place right off the main thoroughfare. I felt a little like that gal from the Oscars, who said "You like me! You REALLY like me," but I managed to keep my face straight. Evan and I stepped up to the challenge of the donkey burrito there. It was great food, but alas, neither of us was able to finish.
During the Blythe stop, I was struck in wonder by the sight of a Greyhound Bus station that was little more than a shack behind McDonald's. What struck me was that while we were there a bus pulled up, and several people actually got off. Why would anyone make Blythe their destination by bus??
We got through the major Phoenix area and entered into the mountains to the east, where I had never been before. Although for the most part it was just mountains, there are some beautiful rock outcroppings and the mix of rock and green vegetation made it just unfamiliar enough to be intriguing. Plus, there were a couple of really cool old bridges that we drove over.
Once we got to Miami, AZ, we started seeing some of the desolation that would become all too familiar to us over the next week. We drove through what seemed to be essentially a ghost town, complete with a fire department that had been closed down with the old trucks still in the carport.
Our contacts in Globe were 3:18 ministries (http://3-18ministries.blogspot.com/). Tory and Kara have a huge heart for the people on the reservation, and it shows in all that they do. But what I thought was funny when we first pulled up was that in the middle of nowhere, in this little tract of homes, here is this huge red Nebraska mailbox out front :-).
Anyway, Kara showed us to our living quarters (actually quarter, since there was only one room). We stayed in what would best be called the activity center of Trinity Baptist Church. They were great in letting us use the facility. It consisted of two main parts: a)a kitchen, a dining room where we slept, and two small bathrooms that were air conditioned, and b)the gymnasium and two large bathrooms with showers that were not air conditioned. We got settled in for a bit, separating the boys from the girls via conference tables, etc, then went to dinner.
Dinner that night was at Roberto's, where they serve a delicious culinary concoction called the Arizona burrito. While we feasted, we played a little "get to know you" game. My thoughts at that point were somewhere between "this could be fun" and "what have I gotten myself into?" Thankfully, there were no tears, only laughter, and we made our way back to the church for orientation/initiation.
The orientation consisted of an activity and discussion that really opened my eyes to how we as Christians through the ages have really screwed up alot of great opportunities to share the gospel with others. We also got to meet Tory, and he and I quickly bonded when one of the kids called the Mega-bloks "big Legos." For shame :-)! It turned out that he and I became quick friends (more on that later).
After initiation, Evan and I picked up a basketball and started shooting hoops in the gym. Actually, I should clarify. Evan was shooting hoops, I was trying to shoot hoops. Then Garrett joined us and we had, to quote Evan, "an epic game of horse." The shots he talks about were indeed epic, and I was forced to acknowledge just how bad I am at basketball. Now to practice for next year!
That concluded our day. I had seen some country that I had not been through before, had my eyes opened to the need for compassion, communication, and understanding for others, and was humbled at my lack of mad basketball skills. All in all, a pretty good day!
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