One of my favorite things about Centralia is the fact that all four seasons are each different, and all celebrated. Just about the time you can't handle winter anymore, spring and all of it's new life comes along. When the summer heat is just getting to the point of annoying, here comes fall with it's beauty and charm.
I think I would definitely say that fall adds a certain level of charm to the Midwest.
The weekend of Halloween is celebrated city wide and each day offers the chance to make memories that will last us years and year to come. From community Trick or Treating, to a Kids Costume Contest and Kiddie parade, then it's on to the Fall Festival where the streets are closed and the down town area is bustling with a community excited about the cooler temps and the Cardinals in the World Series. To end it all, the annual (and not to mention massive) community wide Halloween parade. I think there were 160 entries or somewhere around that number. People begin to set out their lawn chairs along the parade route at the crack of dawn. It always reinforces just how many people live in this area. You get in the mind set that because it is a small town, there just aren't a lot of people you don't know. Literally thousands of people from Centralia and the surrounding areas line the long and straight parade path.
This year me and Seth were looking at this massive crowd through a different lens. These are the people we are here for. There are the people God has called us to. It only inspired us more deeply to run after the vision that God has placed in our hearts for this city and it's beautiful and unique individuals.
