An open letter to my congregation:
My dearest friends…..no strike that, my dearest family. I missed you all very much this Christmas. This is the first time in several years that I have not spent my Christmas Eve service at Trinity and you were all missed. Although I went to a service out in Galena where I attend, it just was not the same. There is something very special about my family at Trinity.
It has been now a full year since moving to Wartburg. There has been some great things that have happened under the watchful eyes of God. Below is a list of things that have happened out here:
Went on a January term to Milwaukee for Urban Ministry.
House in Elburn sold on a short sale.
Kris moved on campus in March.
Passed all my classes in Spring 2012 term…including Exegetical Greek.
Travis started working at Best Buy.
Successfully completed CPE (Clinical Pastoral Education) in Chicago.
Our dog Tank passed away.
Becky was able to volunteer for part of the Summer at Lincoln Park Zoo.
Becky made it through a summer without getting seriously injured, again.
Kris transferred from one department to another at work.
Had a wonderful fund-raiser by my family at Trinity.
I was officially endorsed to continue Seminary. (YEA!!!!)
Kris started to lead a Bible Study for Seminar spouses.
The kids and I had a great Thanksgiving at my sister’s house in Glen Ellyn.
I passed another term of Seminary, no Hebrew needed for me.
We applied for internship, with a restriction to stay on campus.
(We find out about internship site, March 2013)
Becky was awarded a Letter for academics, for a GPA 3.5 or higher in a year.
Kris received a small bonus, named employee of the month.
Kris wins iPad at work.
Becky gets iPad for Christmas.
The kids and I drive through a blizzard to see my great aunt in Georgia.
The kids and I sat on I-74 for 7 hours stuck on the road in the blizzard.
What is coming up?
What we know for sure is that I am headed on January 1, to Pine Ridge Indian Reservation for a 10 day cross cultural class. Myself and two others leave via my car at 6 AM on the 1st. We are all excited to go and learn. We each had to read two books before going. I really enjoyed “Neither Wolf Nor Dog”. This a fictional book about a couple of old Indian men who live on the Pine Ridge reservation. Even though this is fiction, it is based upon facts as presented by an old Indian man that wanted His story told. It is a great read and I highly recommend it.
On February 16th at 2 PM and 7 PM, I will be performing in “The Living Last Supper” at Turner Hall, Galena Illinois. I will be playing the part of James and will be opening up the play. There is no charge for the event and it is on a first come first serve seating. In the past, there have been over 200 in attendance. Having never been on stage before, nor acted, other than acting up, I am a little nervous. However, practice has been going well. I know that God is pushing me again. This time I did not wait for the two by four upside the head.
As the next semester starts, I look forward to my next preaching class. The last professor I had, is on sabbatical right now so I get to have the perspective of another professor and from a female perspective too.
The last big event that we will, as a family be awaiting, is the selection by Wartburg of our internship site. We have some input on this and have put in a request with documentation of reasons for a restricted internship that will allow us to stay living on campus. This does not mean this will happen. The school does try to honor most requests on the other hand. There are potential downsides to restricting on internship. The biggest being financial. Normally housing and insurance is covered for me on internship. Additionally a stipend of around $1,000 a month is also paid. Any and all of these may or may not be covered by staying locally. The financial end is covered by the internship church. Since some local churches are being asked to do internship, there may not be funds to cover my expenses, so we will have to take out more school loans. We always manage to get by financially. God has our backs.
We as a family have learned many things while being out here. God always has our backs and everything somehow works out. Being in community we have learned to depend upon friends. By becoming less able to be “self reliant” has been a humbling experience for us.
God bless each and everyone of you in this next year.
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