FINALLY in Arizona!

I think it is safe to say that we have definitely done enough driving for the week! We have finally arrived in Peoria, Arizona. We got in at about 4:30 yesterday, dropped off our stuff at both of our houses that we are staying at, and then went to the church to check out their middle school service!

I just wanted to share a couple of initial thoughts about the area and the church:

1 - 30 miles will make a heck of a difference!

We drove through flagstaff, Arizona and it was a mild 74 degrees. There was lots of trees and grass, it kind of reminded me of home. After we got out of Flagstaff (which has an elevation of about 6000 feet) we drove down a hill that never seemed to end. In less than an hour, the temperature went from 74 degrees to a smokin' hot 103 degrees! I don't care who tells you it's dry heat, you definitely feel it. When you walk outside it's almost like getting punched in the face. To be completely honest, I really like it so far! It's always sunny, there are beautiful mountains and it feels nice at night. I am being told though that it's going to get to 107 today and up to 116 in July... yikes!

2 - CCV is both HUGE and PERSONAL... is that possible?

The first thing that I noticed about CCV is that it is absolutely gorgeous and absolutely huge. I always wondered how it was possible to form genuine Christian community when the church is that big. I haven't been here long, but I have already learned so much. The church has this really cool thing called neighborhood ministries. All of the small groups and a lot of the children and youth ministry stuff is divided by neighborhood and area. It creates this awesome feeling of knowing the fellow believers that live around you and share in the joys of Christ with you. It has a real awesome ACTS 4 community feel to it. People can help those in need and join with them in prayer and study! It really does make such a huge church feel really personal, I like the idea. I was able to check out children ministries this morning, and I had just as much fun as the kids did!

3 - I am in my element!

It has been such an awesome adventure so far! Granted, I started to get a little cranky in the car on the 3rd day, but since I got here, it has been so fun to meet new people. All of the staff I have met so far have been so gracious to share how they do ministry here. I feel like I am going to learn a lot from them this summer. It has been so helpful just beginning to see how other churches do things. The family Melissa is staying with have been so helpful in helping us get acquainted. They even cooked and incredible meal for lunch today before youth group, it was amazing. Another big thing is that the church is also very in to adventurous stuff. It was one of the main reasons I went to this church. When I went on their website and they said they were about loving people and living an adventurous faith, I really felt God was pointing me in this direction. The one guy who I will be living with runs this ministry called "the edge" that is all about doing crazy adventure sports. I love the idea and I hope to get involved in the ministry!

Anyway, I could say much, much more, but I think I want to take a little nap before group. I will posting pretty often, so please keep in touch!

Love and Adventure, Adam

DAY 2 DRIVING (click to enlarge)


DAY 3 DRIVING (click to enlarge)


This is the position I sat... and sat... and sat!


This is when the view finally got pretty... the mountains out here are awesome!


Lastly, this is when we got to Arizona. The welcome center was cool, and it meant that we were finally getting close!