headed to El Paso

Now, it has been quite a while since I've been back to my old summer stomping grounds in El Paso, Texas. I went there for 7 summers, working with the children's missions organization GMTC: Gospel Ministries To Children. Ben Dowdy, director of SWGMTC El Paso, shot me an email and a phone call to let me know that my dear friends, Chad and Cody Kitchens, had just lost their mom, Annie Kitchens. I still don't know what happened to bring about her physical departure from us, but I know that she was a believer and that she was an incredible woman, a woman that I used to call mom. I had stayed with the Kitchens numerous times during my times in El Paso. One of my most found memories of Annie was when she, Chad, and I were listening to some dc Talk and they said that they liked their old rap stuff better than their newer rock phase (this was a while back); they both then introduced me to The Pirates of Penzance. I love my brothers, Chad and Cody, and I want to be there for them if I can be. So, with that said, I contacted Ben Dowdy, asked if he knew anyone's place I might be able to crash at for Friday night (the memorial service is Friday at 6pm), and he offered his place to me (even though it is 30 minutes from where the Kitchens live). I gratefully accepted, so I took tomorrow off from teaching at DVHS, and I am headed to El Paso in the morning. I am going by myself, with our only vehicle, but Amy has her parents in town, at least, and they have car seats for our kids if they need to go anywhere over the day that I will be gone. I am thankful that the LORD let me have this time where I can go and be with my brothers in El Paso, even though it is going to be a time of mourning while there. I love these guys. Pray for their family, please, and for my safety, as well as for Amy's sanity in dealing with the kids while I'm gone (Aidan's been quite a pain these past few days, "bless his heart").