The Coffee Exchange

Take advantage of every opportunity...that's what I tell myself here in the Springs.  It's been working quite well these past couple of weeks, I am amazed by how many people I am meeting, and how friendly they all are!  Last wednesday, at New Life Next 101, a night where Pastor Brady spoke on the structure of the church, his accountability, and other related details, I sat next to another new friend, Crystal.  Later in the week she invited me to a coffeehouse downtown that her friend was playing at to raise money for a local ministry (which abound here in CS).

It was my first time downtown, and I'm pretty sure we were more on the outskirts than in the central area, but I could easily be wrong.  Aaron was the main player of the evening, and introduced the other acts of the night as well.  

There were three other School of Worship kids with me, and we settled in on the back couch to chat with Crystal and enjoy the music and friendly atmosphere.  When Aaron came back to meet us, and found out who we were, he invited us to sing.  I was immediately up for it and I ended up singing "Mighty to Save", with Aaron himself singing too!  So fun....Darci took some pics, but the place wasn't made for my digital camera.

Darci, the Gentleman, ER

Unfortunately, meeting so many people in such a short amount of time, has really limited my ability to remember names.  BUT I have come up with a fantastic game to nickname people after the first conversation and so if the name doesn't stick, the nickname which often includes most of their backstory, where they are from, or some other helpful detail, gives me some frame of reference for the next time I see them.  I like to think of it in the way that people hiking the AT earn themselves a trail name along the way.  Except I get to give all the names and only share if I want to.  Maybe I'll just start referring to everyone by their nicknames....good stuff.

Phillipino Farmer, Heidi House, HP

Pat and Aaron didn't earn themselves nicknames, but they did do an awesome job sharing some Irish tunes to end out the night.

I love friends making new friends!

After we got kicked out of the Coffee Exchange, we headed over to Waffle House, where the Gentleman had never been.  Over waffles and other greasy, yet awesome food, we shared a bit of our back stories, the hurdles and obstacles we faced just getting to Colorado and how thankful we all were to be at the beginning of this nine month journey together.  Yay for Waffle House!