I'm here!

Well, I have been a little busy recently driving and getting settled, but for now, a quick update! I arrived in Sun Valley, Arizona, my new home last night at about 7:30. I was greeted enthusiastically by 10 girls with hugs and other great excitement. In fact, Janna's (one of the teachers here) mother was here from Hawaii, and she had taught some of the students how to make leis. Two of the kids gave me their leis to welcome me, which was really cool.

To back up a bit, driving for the last two days was exhausting, but good. I have tons of pictures to post, but am way to tired to do any editing or anything, so I will include a few of my favorites as a preview of what is to come. Needless to say, but the time I got here I was really glad to be done driving for a while. Thanks for the prayers!

I had a few wonderful helpers empty my car with me, which was great considering that it was unloaded in about 15 minutes. I mean, it only took me like 2 days to pack! Anyway, I got to know the girls a little, and learned a little about the routine. The girls are amazing, and I am so excited to be a part of this community. I know it will not be easy, that's already clear, but I'm so excited to see God work.

After the girls went to bed, and having a quick chat with Holly, the other dorm parent I'm working with, I did some unpacking. Ok, a lot of unpacking.  The mess was too overwhelming to sleep in, and I had to find sheets. I finally got to bed, and was awakened with a lovely surprise about 4 AM.

Ok, so I've been living in the rainy northwest for the last while, so the sound of rushing water is nearly soothing for me. And it was, until I realised it wasn't rain. My bathroom sink faucet decided the pressure was too much and one of the handles basically broke off, and so there was water rushing in my sink. Most of it went into the sink, but there was a nice lovely puddle on the floor too. So after waking Holly and her husband Bernie up, Bernie graciously helped turn the water off under the sink. (Side note: If I knew there was a knob under there I would have done it myself, but having just moved in, I really didn't want to break anything else.) Nothing like a little fun to wake you up in the middle of the night.

Luckily, the maintenance people here are amazing, and I have a new faucet in my bathroom that works now! The staff have been very welcoming, and I so appreciate them already. These are tough kids. In fact, two of the girls in my dorm stole something from a gas station on their cross country trip today, but that's another story. The point is, these are not your average kids, but everyone here has a huge heart for them. When I met with Mardell, the administrator, today, she shared that no matter what your background, whether reservation schools, teen challenge, or anything else, this job is still challenging in a new and different way. Nothing can compare to it. But she also shared that she has never seen God work quite the way he does here anywhere else. God is amazing, and he is the reason I am here. I'm looking forward to walking through this adventure with him.

Now then, I need to get some sleep, because my 4ish hours from last night are not holding up so well. Thanks for taking time to hear about my journey.