To Austin

This past weekend, Pastor Ben, Susan, Isaiah, and several brothers and sisters were commissioned to launch a church plant at the heart of the University of Texas in Austin. Most of them left after Sunday Celebration yesterday for their new home down south. It's kind of surreal to think that some of these guys that I've known for some years now are no longer nearby. I guess that's what happens when close friends and people you serve alongside for years are gone from your life.

Though I am a bit sad that I won't be seeing these guys anymore, at least not in the near future, I'm more excited to see what God is gonna do in Texas. We're living in an exciting chapter in our lives when the possibilities seem endless and God is moving people towards their destinies. For these brothers and sisters, their short-term future lies in Austin, laying down the foundations for the body of Christ that desires to extend Christ love to unreached people at UT. And though I will not be readily connected to the HMCC family upon my departure to Washington D.C., I hope to hear stories of God's faithfulness and power demonstrated through this church plant.

So to the brothers and sisters of this team, I've been blessed to have known you (some better than others). But regardless of the nature of our relationship, I've been thoroughly encouraged and inspired by you all through the years of serving together in building up the body of Christ in Ann Arbor. And now as you have gone to fulfill the destiny that God has given you, I'm looking forward to hearing magnificent testimonies from you all. Whether you plant your roots in Austin or go on to bigger things for God elsewhere in America and/or the world, I hope that we can still be connected through whatever means available.

I hope to visit Austin one of these days, and so if I do make it out there, I'll be looking forward to some porterhouse steaks. And if, for whatever reason, you come out to Washington D.C., you'll have a friend to call out.

God bless, and I'll be praying for you guys.