The first posting: week one

It's hard to believe we’ve actually been in Kansas City for a week. In many ways, it seems that we haven't been gone all that long. Then again, after just one week, we really haven't been gone all that long. Sometimes it feels like we're still on vacation. But, most of the time, it feels like we've been here for much longer than a week.

Yesterday, on the phone with a friend, I said there have been ups and downs so far. The ups far out-weigh the downs at this point, and I'm not complaining by any stretch of the imagination. I've been to different places before in my life. My mission took me to various new cities in Portugal and then left me on the island of Praia, Cape Verde for seven months. After my first year at BYU I spent the summer in Puerto Rico selling security systems door-to-door. Our Kansas City experience, however, is different than my mission or a 4-month summer job. This is for real. And we're really excited.

Someone asked me this week if I missed Utah yet. No. I always thought that maybe I would miss the mountains or Cafe Rio. I thought maybe I would miss the traffic, the road construction, or the smog. Nope. Mmm, actually, I do miss Cafe Rio. But, we kept our Cafe Rio card, so the next time we're in Utah, we'll be dining on shredded chicken salads with creamy tomatillo dressing. The landscape here reminds me of San Juan, Puerto Rico, or Lisbon, especially on the Missouri side of the state line. The interstates cut right through the heart of rolling, forested hills in such a way that you can't see anything but trees and the largest of office buildings from the freeway, which is kind of nice. It's extremely green here as well. I always thought I would enjoy not living in a desert. Plus, there are so many things here that remind me of our old home in Utah. There's a Chili's restaurant just down the street. There's also Sonic, Krispy Kreme, and Fuddruckers. Besides these restaurant staples, there are also new establishments that are very promising such as Panera Bread and Sherridan's Frozen Custard.

So much can change for you in seven days. One day you're hanging out with old friends, the next you're trying to explain to some lost tourists that even though you are from here, you have no idea where the Plaza is yet. Perhaps the most exciting thing is that we did it. We actually moved. And it wasn't a little move across town (that will probably come in six months or so). This was a big move, and it was a greatly needed move. We truly feel that this is where we need to be. Although it can be a little frightening to act mostly on faith, it is comforting at the same time. We know who's in charge, and we trust Him.