I wrote something last Thursday and the Thursday before that, and today is Thursday, so maybe I should post something.
My time in Iowa is drawing to a close. It has been a fantastic 10 weeks and in about 5 days I’ll be saying goodbye to my summer home. I look forward to leaving, but it’s going to be tough at the same time. I was telling a friend that if the internship was a week longer then I’d be happy to stay a week longer. If it were 2 weeks longer then I’d be happy to stay 2 weeks more, but whatever the case, my final week will probably feel like this one. Now or later I’d have a week that feels like a final week. A week trying to focus on each day and not what is to come. I’ve been planning out next week and I’m excited to see many relatives and friends, but I need to finish strong. It’s a little more difficult than I expected!
On the 19th I gave my first sermon at West Union. (They post them online if you want to listen, http://www.westunion.ia.us.mennonite.net/Sermon) For the rest of the service, the MYF shared about their week in Columbus at the National Convention, and then I got to try my hand at preaching. I learned a lot in the preparation process and feel a lot more confident working on my current sermon for next Sunday. The church was really supportive after I preached giving a lot of affirmation. These people are great!
That Sunday evening, the MYF got together for a movie night outside projected onto a youth sponsor’s house. I can easily say that it was the most impressive outdoor home sound system! We watched “Slumdog Millionaire” with surround sound! With their yard surrounded by corn fields, a lot of horror films were suggested. I for one was content with “Slumdog.”
Most of that week was pretty uneventful. I kept myself busy and actually spent a good bit of time reading through my Middle East journals and looking at pictures. On Wednesday I went to an elders meeting where they discussed the homosexuality paper that I had been working on. With a few changes the paper was affirmed, but the main question was what to do with it now. There was no way to get anything going before I left for the summer, so I won’t be a part of the church-wide conversation. That’s unfortunate, but in a few months they’ll bring the paper out again and discuss the issue. I’ll just have to be a part of discussions elsewhere.
On Friday the 24th I went on my first pastoral visit in the hospital. Dave sent me alone with virtually no instructions, which was a bit frightening. He didn’t even want to tell me where the hospital was. I was just to go out and find Joe and see what I could do for him! Well, I found him and sat by his bed for two hours. His wife and granddaughter were also visiting, so we all had a great time talking and sharing stories. Joe is an amazing man! The doctor said I was lucky to have him be my first experience in the hospital and I totally agree!
Sunday the 26th was the first Sunday in Iowa this entire summer that I didn’t have some sort of responsibility! I didn’t read scripture or lead worship or lead singing or preach. I just sat and listened. That was nice for a change. A friend from EMU was out in Iowa for the weekend, so I was able to spend time with her in Sunday school and then late into the evening as well. There was a welcome home party for someone I didn’t know, so I met a bunch of people and had a fantastic evening of fire and talking and Rock Band and The Office!
Like I said earlier, this week I’m facing the challenge of focusing on each day instead of looking forward to next week. There aren't too many parts to highlight. On Tuesday, Duk (my car) was taken into the shop. Apparently a lot of ’92 Honda Accords have a problem with a fuel relay under that dashboard. When it’s hot and/or humid then they sometimes won’t start. Since that seemed to be the problem and it is now fixed, I hope not to have any more troubles with Duk.
Most of my last few days have been spent reading and writing and thinking about my upcoming sermon. It’s certainly not done yet, but it’s looking pretty decent at this point. I still have a few days left to iron out the kinks!
Oh, I didn’t mention that I’m living alone again. My hosts left last week, so I’ve been on my own. It’s a bit lonely in the evenings, but I’m getting by. John Grisham books and Facebook and my guitar do well to get me through! I need to make sure I finish “The Associate” before I leave Iowa next week. Just 5 days left.
If you want to watch/listen to an amazing guitar solo then check out http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LsnFvEQYJPU
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