Trip to Saint Joseph

This past weekend, Jami and I made the long trip across the entire state of Nebraska to attend the funeral of a good friend and AuXano student, Richa Estes and her husband Joe. This was probably the saddest event of my life. Intense emotion for everyone present. I will have more posts on this subject and the lives of those who we buried, but for now I just want to say that it was emotional and moving. Richa and Joe impacted a lot of people with their short lives and I am proud to say that I knew them.

Short example of their influence. They worked at the Target in Saint Joseph. As I arrived at the funeral I learned of the impact that this tragedy had on that one retail store. Because of the emotion that the entire staff was feeling, the local manager had contacted a Target in nearby Kansas City and arranged for that Target to transplant an entire running crew for one shift to the St. Joe store. He did this so that his entire store would be able to attend the funeral. As I walked into the auditorium where the funeral was being held I saw an entire section of people, probably 50 or more, sitting near the back, all wearing red. The entire shift of employees had made it to the funeral to show their love for Richa and Joe. It was an intensely, moving sight. More to come . . .