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Hey friends & family!

Have you ever stopped and thought about what your community stands for? Let's go even further, what about your city? Have you ever thought about the values of the city in which you live? Is that even something we can see, hear, feel?

Maybe it's because we foresee staying in Denver for quite some time, or because the reason we are moving here is intentional- but I am pursuing hard to understand the values and atmosphere of this city. And I can already sense some things surfacing. Community. Social consciousness. A slower pace. Enjoy the moment.  The believing (in Jesus Christ) community here, from my week-old experience, has a real heart and focus on the city itself. They think first of their city. It's pretty remarkable at first taste. I look forward to getting in deeper into these values and draining them through the filter of the Bible. Denver makes it easy to call home.

It has been a little over a week since we arrived here, and we have so much to share.

This past week, we have spent some time making some new friends at the park over volleyball & running. Another value of the city- ACTIVITY. It seems almost everyone takes advantage of the "playground" around us with exercise, outdoor sports, and adventure. What a blast.

We met with our team leaders, Chad & Emily, for a few hours this week to discuss Destino, our place on the team, etc. What a life-giving conversation. Some things were revealed to me in that discussion, and later on that evening, that would affirm our being in Denver. As our leaders, that spoke some really direct and Spirit-filled words into our lives that I know was meant only for our affirmation and encouragement. We haven't even really done anything yet and they are showering grace upon us! My soul is already on a journey of healing as I am here enjoying the rest that Christ has to offer us in Himself and in the community of his people.

We also had our first staff meeting with parts of the team. It is so good to be a part of the ins and outs of a team again. Listening to the team talk about students and leadership and campus got us so excited to be embarking on Destino in the city!

The more we think about being in relationship with Latino students here in Denver, the more excited we get about starting on campus- but with that comes the overwhelming sense of a HUGE undertaking. We keep our minds focused on the truth that this belongs to God, and He will accomplish great things in His timing and in His way. Let us just continue to say yes!

We go on campus TODAY for the first time. Please join with us in praying that we will gain a heart for the students on Auraria and that we will learn quickly the campus. I believe we will be praying and exploring the campus a bit today. We look forward to sharing with you how it goes!


Love in Jesus,

A&K

Denver is now home. We've made it.

Hey everyone. We apologize for our almost COMPLETE lack of communication since leaving Knoxville, this past Sunday. I (Kayla), of course, left my phone in Knoxville that morning and had to have it shipped to us in Denver. We also haven't had internet until today (except for in the lobby at the hotel- which we didn't see much of). Here is an update on our time so far (the short version; longer version to come):

Sunday we left Knoxville and drove the 13 hours to Fort Worth, TX to stay at Austin's moms and to visit with his dad. Austin drove the Budget rental truck (16 feet...) the WHOLE WAY there. My mom and I shared the task of driving the Subaru, which proved much easier than the truck.

We spent the day on Monday in Fort Worth, showing the city off to my mom. She is such a trooper. We ran her ragged this entire week. She still acts like she's 35, and has the energy to match. She amazes me.

Tuesday morning, we woke up early and set out on the final trek to Colorado. We drove through West Texas (more to come on that), New Mexico, and eventually through the great state that we now call home. We followed the Rockies north through Colorado Springs and then on to Denver. The sun was setting as we were in the middle of the state. It was gorgeous, and I had no idea how to feel. Austin was elated. I was all over the place emotionally. We tried to talk about it...but it really was almost impossible to explain it, even to each other.

For the past 2 days (wednesday and thursday), we ran all over the city looking for a place to live. Although we were totally overwhelmed, the Lord went before us in everything. We learned some parts of the city very quickly, which was exciting and helped in not feeling as shell-shocked. After exhausting ourselves (all three of us, again- my mom is amazing), the Lord graciously provided a duplex house for us to rent. It is in a historically Latino neighborhood but is in sort of a transition to becoming a very eclectic area, very close to the arts distric (yahoo!). It's gorgeous and old. We love it. More to come on that.

We took mom to the airport this morning. We all appeared to do pretty well, all things considered. Of course, we all lost it once we departed. The Lord goes before us into that as well. He is faithful.

All of our things are in the condo that our friends have sold. We'll bum here until we can move into our place at the end of the month. Please pray for our transition here. It will be hard and good, as most God-designed things are. We look forward to sharing this life with you in the best ways we can. We love you all. Thanks for loving and supporting us as we've followed God to this city.

Please pray that students hearts will be open to the gospel here. We just want to be faithful to whom God calls us to serve. Pray for those moments on campus, in our home, on the bus, or wherever, where only God could ordain, anoint, and redeem hearts. Pray for our eyes to be open to them, and our feet to walk by faith into them.

Love you all.

A&K

ps. some gas stations here are called "loafnjugs". weird.  ;)