Friends, Chick-fil-a, and Rob Bell

Adventure #2: The Move

Close friends are something to be treasured. Both Robin and I are so fortunate to have made some of the best friends a young inter-racial couple could ask for. We are unfortunate in that most of them have moved away at one point or another. Some of their destinations include Midland, Missouri, Iowa, Arkansas, Oregon, the Philippines, Oak Cliff, Houston, Mansfield and Denton. (For our sensitive readers, if I didn't write your city don't worry, you're still a close friend.) There have been several requests and attempts to follow these friends to there respective locations. Unfortunately all attempts to leave the Metroplex ended in failure. The desire was there, but the pieces never seemed connect. Until one day...

After having another one of those, "Y'all should move here" conversations with one of the aforementioned friends, we began to seriously consider moving. Our reasons for moving were these:

1. Robin has had a burning desire to leave Texas. Since my love for my wife supersedes my love for the great state of Texas, I began to dream with her of leaving.

2. We have grown tired of the busyness of city life. Traffic sucks. Need I say more.

3. I have been searching for an opportunity to be involved in ministry at a good church somewhere.

4. Lastly, with a baby on the way Robin would prefer to stay at home with the baby. This means that I would need a full time job to support us. Waiting tables at Olive Garden nor substitute teaching would cut it anymore. "Even though I loved both of those jobs, " he said while shaking his head. nope

We expressed some of these needs, especially the one about me working to our friends and began to pray about this possibility. Several days and phone calls later it was evident that we were going to be moving.

The destination: Davenport, Iowa. The amazing friends that helped us with the whole process were Austin and Katy Tullos.
Austin is the Worship Pastor at Harvest Bible Chapel in Davenport. I am planning to help out with the music as much as I can. Hopefully, after learning from Austin and gaining more experience I can steal his job. (just kiddin) I do hope to one day be leading worship at a church somewhere and look forward to playing with the band at HBC until then.

I still needed a job though. Enter Chick-fil-a. Austin talked to one of the members of his church who owned a Chick-fil-a about me. "Luckily" he had an open position at his store. I called him, I flew up and met him, and I got the job. This summer I will be training to be the kitchen manager at Chick-fil-a.

During my interview at Chick-fil-a I was asked if I thought God had called us to Davenport. My response was, "uhh yeah!" Obviously I said it in a more respectful, formal way. But seriously, there is no I would have ever thought to move to Iowa. I don't think anyone does. But this is where I believe God is moving us. I had the opportunity to visit Davenport. It is a very picturesque, Norman Rockwell type of a town. It is a place that experiences all four seasons. As a native Texan that will be fun to experience. I'm not looking forward to the winters, but if "hot" Austin Tullos can handle it, I sure can.

So there it is. We're outta here. It saddens me to think that my baby won't be born in Texas. I plan to teach him/her in all things Texas. After all Proverbs 22:6 says, "Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it." I'll just use that verse for my own context, Rob Bell did (ZING***).


Garcia later