Arizona

I never realized just how beautiful the desert could be. The palate of colors (browns, oranges, and pale pinks) that God used to paint the landscape here is so unlike the greens and blues that make up the Northwest…and yet it’s every bit as beautiful. There is a foot-long lizard that greets me every morning at the same time from the kitchen window as he crawls up into the sun to recharge himself. We haven’t run across any snakes yet, though we’ve been warned to keep our porch light on at night to discourage them from curling up on the doorstep, so we know they’re around. And I’ve never been in a place where the “cold” tap water comes out at room temp or warmer! Though every day has been over 100 degrees we are enjoying the heat.


So far we have met with a few churches, spent a day hanging out with Ellie’s cousin and brother (and fam), and explored the local area a bit. In the next week and a half we have a couple small groups who have invited us to share, and I (Matt) hope to reconnect with some old friends from Rwanda who live in the area!

Though Blake is enjoying this adventure he has asked us every day when we are going back home to “Pokane Wasington.” He’s been through a lot of travel in the last year and he’s been a trooper through it all, but it still breaks our hearts to hear him long for home like that. The folks who are graciously letting us use their home down here have many grandkids of their own so the house has all the toys a kid could want. Out in the back there is a large turf putting green that Blake has been enjoying immensely! Just down the road there is a large splash park, and a man-made lake that boasts the largest fountain jet in the world. It spouts off about every hour and it is quite impressive to see.

So as we spend one more week broiling ourselves in the desert sun please pray with us that the Lord continues to open doors for us down here as well as back in Spokane. And if you happen to know of any fun/interesting/exciting (kid friendly) things to do down in the Phoenix area shoot us an email!