Move to Wichita

As many of you probably know, about four months ago I made a big change in my life and moved to Wichita, KS from Boise, ID. The change was prompted by year-and-a-half, long-distance romance with a fine young lady living down here in Wichita. We both desired to advance the relationship to a point where plane rides were not required to see each other; we're kind of weird like that. Both of us had been working on getting jobs for a while (she in Boise, I in Wichita) but I was the one that landed an interview around Thanksgiving 2004. When a job offer materialized, the choice was clear to me and I took the it without much second-guessing. Katie and I had been working towards this goal for so long and now the end was in sight.

Moves are hard for me, though. My move to Boise straight out of college was much more difficult than I had expected and I ended up with a significant but not frequently crippling case of depression (self- and peer-diagnosed). Being more introverted, it takes a lot of time and energy to form new relationships, making moves (and sometimes changes in general) large emotional burdens. I guessed that moving to Wichita would probably not be as difficult as the move to Boise but I had no hopes of it being a natural adjustment. I figured that having one key relationship already in place and being more aware of how I struggle in moves would make this one easier than the last but far from a cake-walk.

I was right.

The toughest part of this transition, though, came in realizing just how much I had given up to make this move. Or, more specifically, how much I had worked to form relationships in Boise that were just now coming to fruition. I had been putting diligent effort for quite a while into find ing my place in Boise and after years (literally) of struggling with it, I finally felt like I was making some progress. In short, I felt I had been making some long-term investments and they were just now paying off. To be specific:

Teaching the 11th grade Sunday school class at church. Just a few months before I left an opportunity had been presented for me to start teaching the 11th graders. This was great in so many ways: I got to take part in the teacher training which was, far and away, the best small group of which I have ever been a part. I knew all the 11th graders pretty well and they are a fun group to be around. I had an opportunity to use a somewhat latent skill I have always wanted to develop. All around, this was a very good thing.

The Triumvirate was just forming. By this I mean some of the coolest and most unique social activities with two people I greatly respect: Ken and Caroline. These two and been interning at church for the past several summers but due to their busy schedules during those times, we hadn't had much time to hang out together. Almost by accident, we started spending time together on a weekly basis and it turned out to be one of the highlights of my week. We three thought in a pretty similar way and enjoyed many of the same things. We were all at the same stage in life, still trying to figure out where we were headed. Both, I miss those two.

New group at church. Two very cool people, Mark and Jenny, were just back from China and, using their exceptional people skills, were in the midst of forming a group of younger single people. The church (in the most general sense of the word) seems to have a hard time knowing what to do with single people. This makes a lot of sense; it is a family-oriented institution and people without families don't easily fit into its structure. I had made feeble attempts to get a group going to deal with this problem. Let's just say that Mark and Jenny were able to succeed where I couldn't. All-around high-fives to them, too bad I was literally on my way out the door as it was happening.

African ministry partner. Continuing on the list of gifted and all around great people I had been spending time with, Kelly and I had been working for a number of months to find a ministry in Africa with which to partner. (Truth be told, Kelly was doing most of the work and I was doing my best to provide feedback and keep her encouraged in the endeavor). We found one and just a few weeks before I hopped in my car to drive to Wichita, the founder of the ministry visited our church to further explore this opportunity. Well, as of the time of this writing, things are looking very promising. Kelly has arranged a large number of child sponsorships and already spent a month over in Rwanda (where the ministry is based). My heart for social justice and a desire to make Christ known in practical ways could not have found a better outlet.


I don't list these all so as to solicit pity from others. I list these to make a point: my move was either one of those grand bits of Divine Timing or I have made a very big mistake. I'm not exaggerating when I say that all of these things had come together just in the past few months prior to my departure. This is when God provides the job and the opportunity to be with Katie. For a long time, Sunday mornings here in Wichita were pretty depressing. I would go to this new church and sit around all these new people and all I wanted was to be in a comfortable environment again, one where I knew others and was known. This I had finally achieved back in Boise but Boise was no longer my home.

I choose to believe that God knew what he was doing when he provided this job for me in Wichita. Though I long to be back in Boise, this is where my life is now.