dougs digs

I just returned from a longer than expected trip to Springfield, Missourah to visit my closest friend, former roommate, and all around great guy, Jeremy. Initially, I was to be gone only from Saturday afternoon to Sunday afternoon. However, our visit just got deeper and more fun by the hour, so I stayed until Monday morning. He invited me down to keep him company (and to catch up) while his wife Aubra is in Thailand for a multi-week photo shoot for a mission’s organization, AGWM. Before we got married and moved to KC, my wife Jenae also worked for AGWM for several years as the host and lead reporter for a monthly world missions video program that was distributed internationally within the denomination.

A common thread connecting Jeremy with those of you living around KC, with Jacobs Well, and / or Waterdeep fans; is that Jeremy was the original Waterdeep archivist and was the lead singer of a band called ZOË with Waterdeep keyboardist Christena Graves before she joined Don & Lori & crew. Shortly thereafter, Jeremy then formed a very cool group called Stillwater Rhythm. That is when we lived together and subsequently for the first time in my life I was brought into a true understanding of community and what it looks like to have an authentic life in Christ with other people.

I had a good time visiting the town that I spent the majority of my adult life in. It is unbelievable I lived there from '93 - '01, 8 freakin years. The town is still very limited and very conservative. However, they are making great strides in their downtown revitalization (yes they have a "downtown"). They have even built a brand new baseball stadium, which will be the future home of the St. Louis Cardinals Double A team. It is sad that a town the size and mentality of Springfield has blown past KC with the commitment to downtown revitalization. I really hope our city can get it together before Warrensburg, Sedalia, and Clinton passes us up as well.

I had a great weekend, it is so good to reconnect with close friends.