VBS is over!

Before I get into the whole VBS experience thing, I bought a shirt today. Now, yes, $20 is probably a bit much for a shirt (at least in my book, which has me shopping in fun places like Walmart and Trinkets & Togs). But it is quite possibly the coolest shirt I will ever own.

Tomorrow I might actually make it to the zoo! Yahoo!!

So. VBS. Wow. To learn what we learned, check out this site.
What I learned? Read on, faithful readers, read on:

• Children have energy.
  
• Adults don't lose energy, we simply pass it on to the children.
• When adults get their own snack, snack time goes a lot better.
• A piece of cake plus two sticky buns in an adult's system doesn't match energy of straight brown sugar in a child's
• Pastors will do the craziest things in the name of VBS
• You can get people to do anything in the name of taking their picture for a slideshow.

And a whole slew of more stuff, but I'm exhausted and going to sleep.

synod assembly, preaching, council meeting, arm

Well!

Synod assembly was fun and interesting: gave a 2 minute speachy thing on campus ministry and realized I LOVE WARTBURG and even more: I LOVE Wartburg CAMPUS MINISTRY!! :)
Other than that though, synod assembly was quite a bit boring. It was interesting to observe the process of electing a bishop, and it was very interesting to observe the discussions on the various resolutions (read: listening to Lutherans argue about homosexuality). But the treasurer's report was, ah, a bit dry, and the rest of it wasn't all that engaging either.

Preaching went very very well, and those what want can email me and I'll send a copy of my sermon to ya.

I met the new organist here. She seems really cool. By the way: if any of you thought the Lutheran world was small, and it is, the church music world is even smaller: I met a guy at synod assembly who said, "Oh, Wartburg, you must have Karen Black as your professor" (he's an ALCM person), there's a person here at the church who knows a person I met at the ALCM conference last summer and got to know pretty well, (they both went to KU), and the new organist here went to school with Dr. Black. I love feeling like the entire world is connected to itself.
And even more than that, I love feeling like I am connected to all that, too.

Last night was my first ever congregation council meeting experience. (The synod assembly was my first one of those, by the way.) Holy wow. I didn't know 11 people could talk about a kitchen for two hours straight. It was ridiculous. Two hours! And then we finally got around to the other business, which we sort of ran through, so that we finished just after 10pm! (the thing started at 7:30.) Wow.

This week's Theology on Tap (which I keep confusing and calling Phil/Lit) was Stump the Pastors. I love this church.

Oh, and for those of you who are following the saga of my stupid arm, also known as Numbness v. Organist, I had a CT scan yesterday, a follow up next week, and will know more for you later. Although the prevaling consensus is that it's not anything majorly seriously wrong. So that's good.

Until the next

moved in

Fast update, since we're going food shopping soon...

I'm moved in to DC, the church and the house and everything got Erika's seal of approval. (Note to my May Term conversation partners: She's explained everything. Call me.)

Um... I took the chocolate mint chip pudding from home. Sorry guys.
Uhm... yeah. That's about it. And somehow I think I lost my iPod cord between the house and here. Which is tricky, since we drove. But I'm sure it will turn up in one of these bags.

And now, for a bit of a musical interlude...
I think I'm gonna like it here...


Until the next

constant movement

Well! Just got back from orientation for my immersion this summer. Twas in Philly at LTSP (yay) and three-ish days long. We stayed in a hotel downtown and took the train to the seminary each day. It was fun, although yeah, parts were boring, parts were boring but important, parts were fun but not important, and parts were interesting and important. Just like pretty much every orientation that has ever happened in the history of the world. Even that one time when God was orienting all the angels to the new earth place.

So. I'm getting pretty excited about the summer. It's going to be pretty busy, but it seems to be pretty cool. Not to mention that it seems that I will be working with some pretty awesome people.

Some wrap up May Term stuff:
It's been interesting adjusting to being back. I'm starting to get un-jet-lagged. We had bread at the restaurant in Philly yesterday evening, and it was pretty amazing. Not like German bread, but it was almost fresh out of the oven, and I happen to adore fresh warm bread.

I also really like to cook. I'm thinking angel cake, caramel sauce, and.... whipped cream? Yeah, I'm in a cooking mood. This could be very fun. Especially for my family who will be stuck with all the food that will result from this cooking mood, 'cause I'm threeish days from moving to DC. Oh, and I pretty much only know how to make desserts. Oops.

Until the next,

who says you can't go home?

Hello! Greetings from sunny Severn!

I made it back all in one piece, on time and everything. There was some trouble in Paris (like having to run through the airport, go through the lines at passport control, go through the liiiiinnes at security, bolt to my gate, get security checked again, get on the shuttle to the plane and board the plane all in 50 minutes), since my plane from Germany landed after the plane to JFK had already started boarding. But I did make it!

I get to practice today, which is very exciting since it's been pretty much forever. Or, four weeks. I would have gotten to play on Monday at the Augustana Hochschule in Neundettlesau, but I was impeded by the complexities of the image of God.

Today I head off to orientation for my thing this summer, which should be pretty neat, as long as I don't jet lag too much. I woke up at 5:30 this morning, so I'm apparently not having problems with sleeping in too much, but then again, here at 6:30, it's already noon:30 in Germany, so maybe I'll be falling asleep too much this evening.

It's good to be back, and later on today or this weekend I will add more information about stuff we did on the trip.

Until the next

And thus we begin...

Welcome to the new blog! If you're looking for something resembling the old blog, you haven't found it, and you most likely never will, since it doesn't exist. Sorry.

This blog will be used for my May Term Germany trip, my summer job, and my Germany studying abroad. At least that's the current plan.
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I've almost started packing for May Term. Yes, it's after 9:30 pm, and I leave for the airport around 9:30 am. But that's not the point... the point is that I've started. :)

I fly from here to JFK to Berlin, and once there meet up with the rest of the group.

I'm very excited about being there, but I'm still so tired just thinking about the traveling. 1.5 hr flight to JFK, 3.5 hr layover, 8.5 hr flight. Ugh. So tiring.
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I'll post again when I can from Germany, and definitatly post backwards once I get back, and I'll let you know when that has happened.

Until the next!