Growing Things

Here is an update on the soybean field around our house:This is one of my tomato plants. It is getting so big! I got it when it was about a half a foot high and now it is like 2 feet! This is one of my planted barrels. My flowers are doing so well! I bought them with one blossom each and now they are really filling out the pot. (I spent a total of $2! It is as wide around as a normal size barrel) And here are the newest things to blossom around the farm house:This is the Gooseberry bush that Lucy likes to hide in.Here is a bonus: Lucy getting another bath due to a ring worm scare. (I found a tiny bald spot on her ear.)And here is Lucy hunting our palm. She just did this over and over so I had to take a picture.
Oh, and that pink ear is not her bald spot, she just really has a pink ear :)

More Traveling

Andrew filled in for a Pastor in Lake Crystal, MN. on Sunday. It took us about 2 and a half hours to get there. On our way there we drove by another "big" item in Minnesota. I thought corn was an Iowa thing :) but Olivia claims to be the Corn Capital. This was the church Andrew preached in.After church we were invited over to a retired CRC pastor and his wife's house. They had immigrated from Holland when they were in their 20's. They were told that there was a need for Pastors and suggested that Art (the retired pastor) needed to become one to fill the need. They went to seminary with 3 children. They were a very friendly/fun couple with a lot of interesting stories. Art gave Andrew some books he was getting rid of. After our visit, we drove around the little town for a bit and could not help but stop and laugh at this stained glass window. We stopped for lunch in New Ulm. It reminded us a lot of Dubuque. It was on the banks of a river; it had many Victorian style houses; It was a very German town. These were some mosaic flags from Germany's history done by a local artist.
It is has been fun these last few weeks to see new areas of Minnesota that we had not seen previously.

Huron, South Dakota

Alissa and I have decided that I will accept a nomination for a pastoral position in Huron, South Dakota. That means that some time in July (perhaps the 12th or the 19th) we'll go there and I will preach. After the service, the congregation will hold a special meeting and vote on whether or not to call me as their associate pastor. Assuming they say, "yes," I then have to arrange for the presbytery (regional grouping of pastors and elders) to examine, ordain, and install me. It's very possible that the formal examination/ordination would occur after I begin at Huron -- it can take some time to get enough folks assembled and I've already met with the local presbytery "Committee on Ministry," which oversees the relationships between pastors and churches.

This congregation (400 members) is in a smallish eastern South Dakota city (12,000 pop -- making it the 9th largest in the state). Wow; I just realized that one out of every thirty people will be church members. The position is three-fold, focusing on Christian Education, Visitation, and Evangelism.

The first "tine" is Christian Education. Huron formerly hosted a Presbyterian college for many decades, and the influence of this center of learning made Christian Education a high priority for the congregation. While the college finally closed its door in the late 1990s (after having gone through 3 or 4 hands in that decade), this congregation still values a solid Christian educational program, involving Sunday School for all ages, LOGOS (Wednesday night kids club that involves a family meal, learning 'worship skills,' and Bible lessons), Sr. High Youth Group, VBS, and special programs. The children and youth programs are well-established, with dedicated church-members serving as Sunday School superintendent and youth group leaders. They are looking for help in organization, evaluation, envisioning, and implementation.

The second and third "tines" involve leadership in Visitation and Evangelism. As in many churches, the Deacons here at Huron visit the elderly, the sick, and the shut-in, but there is a desire for training and co-ordinating their efforts, as well as increasing follow-up with visitors/seekers. Pertaining to seekers, this congregation -- like most mainlines -- had been content to open the doors and wait for people to come in for the past fifty years. In their recent discernment process, they realized that they needed to have a more proactive approach and are interested in new ways to share the gospel with their community.

The folks we met have all seemed very practical, easy-to-work-with folks with a love for Jesus and desire to see his kingdom furthered there in Huron. The church also has a reputation for being very musical, which is a plus for us! The senior pastor and his wife are West Virginia natives; this is his fourth call; he has served as an associate pastor in the pastor; he is theologically traditional and I think we could work well together.

I know that job descriptions always change a bit once you get started, but this is what it looks like right now. We're looking forward to beginning life and ministry in South Dakota and we'll keep you all posted.

S.D. Trip Part 3

We made one more stop on the way home from S.D. Andrew thought I might like to see Pipestone, MN, home of the peace pipe. He had been in the area before on a trip with the Seminary. He showed me the church he met with on his "native American plunge" experience. On our way there, we came across yet another large object: the pipe.
It is strange to come across large chunks of rock like this when you are used to pretty flat prairie areas. And who knew there was a nice little water fall here too? It was a really nice state park.
This reminded me a little of the Sphinx. There were also some ruins here in Pipestone. This particular type of rock is easier to carve making it the choice stone for pipes.
This map illustrates the difference in pipes in different regions and how the stone here circulated all over the U.S. through trade.

It was fun just to be able to take this mini side trip to see something new. We have been so busy around here lately traveling and discerning that it is easy to not really take any time to discover the area around us. Thanks for the nice trip, Andrew!

S.D. Part 2

On our trip back from S.D., I asked Andrew if we could stop in Desmet, S.D. It had many signs claiming to be:
There were signs everywhere saying "Laura's home this way". I had read all the Little House books growing up so I thought we needed to stop. Andrew was kind enough to agree. Here is a history of the place for those of you that have not been. (click on history) Isn't it just something when you can almost see forever?More of our trip to come.

S.D. Part 1

Andrew and I got back from a nice visit to S.D. As you can see, it is quite flat and open. We felt right at home because S.D. has about as many large statue thingies as Minnesota. Andrew is standing under the World's Largest Pheasant. This Pheasant is 28 feet and weighs 22 tons. It is made of fiberglass and steel. It was built in 1959.This is a close up of the mural under the bird. It depicts the release of pheasants in to the midwest. Pheasants are not native. They were introduced in to the U.S. in the 1800's, from China.Then we found this White Buffalo in a local car sales parking lot. Apparently the white buffalo is sacred to the Native Americans. This town also has many murals done by local artists. This one depicts the State Fair that is held in Huron every year.
This was a park nearby that has a walking path and a gazebo on an island.This is First Pres. Church in Huron. This was our destination. When we arrived at the hotel, this was waiting for us:
Andrew's response, "I don't know if I can accept this. It might be classified as a bribe." :) More to come from our trip.

Spring or Summer?

I can't tell whether Spring came and went or not. (It is June after all.) The last several days have been in the 50's so I really couldn't even figure out where Spring was! Then I started looking at more recent pictures and realized it is indeed greener. Here is a photo of Andrew and I (when Jan and Alan were here.) I guess it was pretty green then... I have a hard time trusting people who put me on their shoulders. Here is a more recent update of the Goose Family.This is a shot of our driveway. You would laugh if you saw our first attempt to mow this thing. This is a close look as the Soy beans planted in our farm field as they first broke the ground. They are now a couple of inches taller.Since this is our first Spring/Summer in this house, it is fun to see what pops up around here. This flower (a type of yellow snapdragon I think) surprised me this week.I like to take pictures of dandelions for some reason. They are pesky plants but quite photogenic.And my last donation for the day: a dried prairie weed of some type. I thought it looked cool in black and white.