Hello There, Imperial.

The drive to our location is butt ugly. Really though. I have been on some pretty drives (like the drive to Jackson - so killer!), and this was pretty bleak. 
Driving to Imperial reminded me of my first drive to Queen Creek. When I moved to Queen Creek there was not ONE stoplight. There was only one small stop sign on the main Ellsworth Rd.  For miles, there was dirt. Just dirt. Nothing but dirt. And I remember thinking, "Where the heck are our parents taking us?"
Well, that is how I felt driving down here. After Yuma, it is just nothing but dirt and farms. And we kept driving, and driving, and driving, and there was still nothing. On the drive down, there is a little fence to the left that is about 20 feet away. That little fence separates the United States and Mexico. So....
Finally, an hour past Yuma, out in the distance I saw civilization.  That civilization would be our new home, for honestly, who knows how long. It could be up to five years! As we drove through town, I wanted to cry.  I started to feel heavy anxiety and completely overwhelmed.  You see, this place has all the stores and places. Waaaaay more than Rexburg and Idaho Falls combined. But it's old, and not very pretty vegetation wise. I think because of the drought, California doesn't put any resources in making their cities pretty. So dirt is everywhere instead of vegetation. Which makes the place look a little old and dirty. And it's not dirty, but parts are a little old.  
But at the time, I couldn't see past my initial impression.
We finally pulled up to our new house, and I wanted to be happy and put a smile on my face for Trent. And I did, but it was so forced, and Trent could tell. I walked in, and felt completely overwhelmed again. Overwhelmed with nasty blue carpet and a house that was ours that I didn't get to pick out. Overwhelmed with the responsibility of moving everything in and making this house a home, despite my feelings.  
Now that we have been settled for a few weeks, the house is actually pretty great. It has some quirks, but I am excited to start decorating (very, very slowly).  And I feel very, very lucky that we have this wonderful 3 bedroom home with a backyard and front yard full of grass! And we have definitely been taking advantage of that!
Back to the story. After a few minutes of walking around the house and taking it all in {although I wasn't taking it in very well}, Trent and I went outside to load the U-haul while Rita watched the boys.  Before we started, Trent sat me down on the back of that U-haul and said, "You know, this is similar to a mission in some ways. You are sent to an area where you don't know anyone. You are scared. You feel alone.  And it's overwhelming." And cue tears.
He didn't tell me it would all get better. He didn't tell me it would be Okay. He just let me cry a few tears next to him, on the back of that U-haul.  I really appreciated that. More than he knows. We sat in silence for awhile until I composed, and then we got to work.

Then came the moving with the wrist. Yeah, I already complained about that.  And then the unpacking.  Have I mentioned how much I hate moving??
While we were unpacking, about three different neighbors came over and introduced themselves. One of them offered us to come to this kick off to Bible camp for kids.  They had food, activities, bouncy houses, and more.  Have such kind neighbors really made me feel better. I told Trent we should go, but we couldn't because the owners of our rental were coming down to meet with us for a few hours.
On Sunday, we went to church. Our church building is about 10-15 minutes away. And you can probably guess, it's pretty old. Like those Mesa church buildings old.  But this is probably the moment where everything changed for me.
We walked in, and our ward is very, very small.  At least that Sunday, we could all probably fit in just the middle rows of the chapel. The meeting was sweet.  There were a lot of good testimonies.  Afterwards, we were bombarded with people. Seriously. Every step we took someone stopped and introduced themselves.  And not just from our ward, it was also people from other wards?? And the Stake President stopped me in the hallway and chatted with me. I had no idea he was the President until someone else in passing said, "Hello, President."  The Bishop brought us into his office and talked with us.  His counselors made sure to introduce themselves.  Two sets of missionaries volunteered themselves as service to whatever we needed.
You guys, it makes me tear up writing this.  It was incredibly humbling.
Also, four of Trent's coworkers are in that ward.  And of course, they all rushed up to us and introduced themselves.  They kept going on and on about how they are super excited for us to be here and how amazing the company is. And tomorrow, Sunday, they invited us over to a potluck for one of Trent's coworker's birthday. 
And then Thursday night, a gal from the ward stopped by and brought us cookies. She wasn't able to introduce herself at church, so she wanted to bring by cookies, swap numbers with me, and welcome us to the ward.
She texted me the next day with all the details of the area, activities for kids, and again, offering us dinner, service or whatever we needed.
Writing this, I realize I have a lot to thank Heavenly Father about tonight.
So. How is Imperial?? 
Well, it's the first time I have ever been a minority. In religion, in ethnicity, in political opinions, in everything, really.  Also, people can not get over Porter.  Everywhere we go, everywhere, people are constantly touching him. Telling me how handsome he is and how they can't believe his blonde hair is! Of course, this is all in Spanish.  But I'm picking up words and phrases!
There has been a lot to take in these past few weeks. But we really are grateful for the support from our family and friends, this job, and the wonderful people of Imperial.