Yes, I will miss Anderson

Sunday was our last day at The Mercy House. Our pastor Matt had us come up to talk about where we are going and what we were doing. To introduce our announcement, Matt said something close to "for some strange reason, Tom and Katie are leaving the wonderful and exciting city of Anderson, IN for the lame who-would-want-to-go-there country of France."

Although there was obvious sarcasm in his description of both cities, Matt truly loves Anderson. And really, so do I. It's certainly not for its selection of restaurants, availability of jobs, or all-around coolness. Because it doesn't have any of those things. When I came to Anderson in 2004 to go to AU, and when I moved here in 2006, I would never had imagined missing Anderson- especially if the alternative were Paris! And despite the fact that I feel that Indy is "where I'm from," Anderson has become a home.



The Mercy House is a top-of-the-list reason why I feel so connected to Anderson. We don't exactly have a big group of friends in Anderson, but TMH has been a place to connect with others, to learn, to worship God, and to serve the community. I love TMH atmosphere and the people who are doing wonderful things: starting and running a thrift store, creating a free after-school program, and caring for the spiritual growth of TMHers. And Tom and I, we coordinated the coffee bar, admittedly not a ministry like the others. But I think a lot of people appreciated having delicious lattés to sip on Sunday mornings. And I loved doing it!





Tom and I are looking forward to becoming part of a community and church in Paris, but I will certainly miss this place over the next 10 months.