After five years of living in Abilene, Molly and I will be departing in just three days. Needless to say, with all of the packing of boxes, farewells with dear friends, and the realization that there is no Blue Bell ice cream in Ireland (WHAT?!?!), I will admit to feeling a little nostalgic about this city. Ok, maybe very nostalgic. Hey, if you had received two degrees, lived in a house named the "Bromansion" with five incredible men with many crazy stories, met your wife and married her, learned how to be fully in the Body of Christ, and watched lives get changed on a regular basis because of God's kingdom coming to earth; you would too.

So, here we go, five things I would tell freshman me about Abilene five years ago.

1. The weather is incredibly bipolar, except in the summer.

In Abilene the weather will switch from below freezing one day, to mid 80's the next day.....in the winter. And in recent news Abilene weather has discovered how to have a city-wide hailstorm during the summer. Suffice it to say, in all seasons Abilenians learn quickly to heed the weather report, many times, each day.

The only constant I know in Texas is the surface-of-the-sun heat in the summer ALL SUMMER and the sweet taste of Blue Bell ice cream all year round.

2. The people are just so darn friendly.

Sure, maybe this is just a Texas thing, but it needs to be pointed out. After living in Abilene for one year, you will not be able to go to any restaurant or store without seeing someone you know. For extroverts this is incredibly thrilling, for introverts.....moderately so. If you make eye-contact with anyone in said store they will most likely smile and say "Hi", or the ever popular "Howdy". Southern hospitality is not just a value in west Texas, its more of an uncontrollable reflex.

3. Abilene is a launching city.

With Dyess Air Force Base, ACU, HSU, McMurry, and several technical and community colleges in town, most of the Abilenian population looks completely different every 4 years or so. Also, the three Christian colleges and many churches send out missionaries all over the world for short and long term missions regularly. For most people, Abilene is meant to be a launching pad into what God is calling them to do for the rest of their life. So what better place than Abilene to have a church equipping and sending out people to the ends of the earth? We are so blessed to carry on this legacy in the years to come.

4. The Christian churches are surprisingly united.

A little known fact about Abilene: At least once a month most of the Christian pastors in the city will meet together to pray over each other and discuss Christian ministry in their beloved city as friends. This blows me away. Lets be real, most churches, if left unchecked, can have a sort of unspoken rivalry. For example: "I heard so and so left the church to go be with such and such a church...." However, this is not the case when it comes to the majority of the Christian church leadership in Abilene! I was actually able to participate in one of these meetings and the camaraderie was unreal. It is such a blessing to have such humble, genuine, and passionate leaders at the helm in Abilene for Abilene.

5. While the landscape is a desert, the community makes it an oasis.

This is the mantra of all small towns, "There is just not much to do here." As a man who grew up in the suburbs of the Dallas/Fort Worth metroplex, I completely agree. Abilene will have maybe one chain restaurant for every ten in DFW. We have only one drive in movie theater, one Buffalo Wild Wings, and no Chipotle.

Don't forget to breathe...

However, as a town where there is not much to be entertained by, Abilene provides an even better way of life: learning how to create good times with those around you. In Abilene I have truly begun to learn how to live a satisfying life by connecting with church, spending lots of time with people who stretch me and cause me to grow, and then pouring myself into that community as much as possible. And this is what I plan to do for the rest of my life.

So there you have it, Abilene. I will miss you. I may have doubted I would ever really feel at home here, but as I prepare to leave I can honestly say you were my home.

Stay tuned for more Ireland updates,

Viva Abilene.