We made it

Actually yesterday. A very good trip. We left at 9:30pm on Friday and drove through the night. Being a college student, allowed me to drive till 3:30am, and then get 45 minutes of sleep and drive till noon. We stopped at Tony and Rhonda Doerhmann's for a very hospitable visit in Belfontaine, and then drove the last 2+ hours to Suzanne's parents arriving at 5:15pm on Saturday. The girls did awesome. They slept all night till 4am. Stopped for potty and then slept till 6am, when we ate breakfast on the road. Emberlynn slept somemore throughout the morning, but Alyssa and Courtney stayed awake mostly and they all were mostly fuss free. They did awesome!
Suzanne was also fun to travel with! She kept me awake a couple times through the we hours of the morning. Our conversations kept me alert and made the trip go fast. As fast as 18 hours can be.
Blessings to everyone and the people that you are with.

Cold finals

This is according to a local forcast:

"The arctic air that brought a more than 25-degree temperature drop Sunday will stay in place the next few days in the Wichita area.

And while there may be a few flurries, the forecast through Tuesday does not call for any significant moisture, according to the National Weather Service."

Sunday morning at 6am it was 52, then by church time it was 33, finally by mid afternoon it was 16, overnight in the single digits.  I walked to school this morning and it was a bit cold (currently 3), but not windy so it was bearable.  Last night I walked to Pizza Hut, about 1.25 miles in 14 degrees, but walking into the wind of 30+ mph.  That was cold.  But the weird thing is, when you set your mind to something being doable, it actually becomes doable.  Other than not being able to feel the area around my eyes for a little while, it really wasn't that bad.  On the way home, the wind was at my back nearly pushing me home.  I got home to realize that I didn't have keys with me, and Suzanne and the girls weren't home yet.  Thank goodness for semi-warm garages.

Finals week to go!

This semester has one more day before finals.  Behold it comes quickly.  We are looking forward to spending time with family and friends in Ohio over Christmas break.  For those that want to know, our tentative schedule is to arrive in Ohio on the 20th.

Stay overnight 4 nights at Suzanne's parents.

Stay overnight 4 nights at my parents.

Stay overnight 1 night at Suzanne's sisters.

Then, we'll regroup and see if anyone still wants us:)  I jest.  I would be very surprised to have our parents let us sleep out in the cold.  Suzanne said we should bring our tent along, just in case.

We need to be back out here the first Saturday or Sunday of January 2009.

That's the schedule.  It will be here before you know it, and of course it will be gone before you know it too.

Take time to value family, and worship the Christ of Christmas.  That's our plan.

Sacred Space

For those of you looking for another way to practice "daily devotions" try sacred space.  One of my professors of Faith and Discipleship has used this in class.  I have found it to be a good tool to help me place myself in a position to meet with God.

Thankful to the near end

We had good time with Family and Friends for Thanksgiving.  Here is a sampling of our fun:

The girls, my Parents, and I went on a luminary walk at the Arboretum.  It was beautiful with the thousands of lights.  About half way through they had some fires and smores, which were a hit as you can tell.

This was towards the end of the luminary walk.  The girls were enjoying it much more than their faces show.  We have taken a couple pictures on this bench during the time that we have  been here in Hesston.

Suzanne and I ran in the Howard Hustle.  It is a 2 mile race named after the current President of Hesston College.  I have a special shirt on with a lightning bolt on the back.  I am "Nolt Bolt".  (Back in 95/96 I won the then current races)  Anybody that beat me got their name put in a drawing for a free pizza.  I came in about 12th place overall under 13 minutes and 3rd in my age group.  Suzanne came in under 18:30 in 90th place and 3rd in her age group.  She also beat Dave Greiser, who came in 2nd in his age group.  Well Done DAVE!

We had a good time with the Pastoral Ministry families at the stutzman retreat center.  Here are all but one of the children, notice the strong gender bias toward female.  The newborn not in the picture is also female.

Here are most of the PM'ers and families at our weekly carry-in meal at the Lark's Nest at HC.  As Mennonites, we are big on food and fellowship.

Thanksgiving celebrations

Wednesday night a great number (20-30) of PM students and families are getting together at the Stutzman retreat center for a Thanksgiving meal.  This is a cabin owned by the college.  We are probably going to stay overnight and then hop in the car at 7:30am to come back to Hesston, because...

Thursday morning my parents are arriving on the bus from Kidron, Ohio.  Thanksgiving is a big deal here at Hesston College.  There are lots of perspective students and lots of parents that come out for the long weekend as well.  This place will be jumping.

Suzanne will be working every Supper starting Thursday evening through Monday evening.  She will be thankful for the rest, when Thanksgiving is over.

Trade your weather

For those of you coming on the bus from Ohio, here is your comparison:

Unfortunately, the temperature will drop a little on Friday and it will get windy, and rainy/snowy, possibly.  Looking forward to seeing many of you.

Jeremy Patterson Pastor of Journey @ Yoder

This fine young man was a student at Hesston last year and now he is the Pastor of the second campus of South Hutchinson Mennonite called Journey @ Yoder.  Why am I writing about him?  Well because he and his family are just too cool!  And to make a confession.  Last year about this time, I was giving him a hard time for not keeping up with his blog more than once a week.  I have fallen to the same problem.  I am busy, but that isn't a good excuse.  A lot of stuff is happening on a regular basis, and we are looking forward to a number of things.  As hard as it may be for me to conclude, I think I am getting written out.  I write so much from papers, to emails, to journals, to notes, to reflections, that I just want to read and talk, not write.

So that is where I am at for now, or I could be wrong.

Moving so fast

This semester is moving so fast.  We just finished week 12 out of 16.  In a week and a half, it will be Thanksgiving weekend.  Then 2 and a half weeks later the semester is over and we are headed for Ohio for Christmas break.  We will be in Ohio for 2 weeks, through New Years.

This time has gone fast out here.  We have been in Kansas for 11 months.  We could potentially be out of Kansas again in 6 months.  We are well over half way through our time.  Where are we headed after here?  Very few if any of us know:)  Some of you would have an opinion though, I am sure.

Exciting (busy) weekend

This is going to be a packed weekend, and I am looking forward to it. Our Pastor from Chestnut Ridge Mennonite Church of Orrvile, Ohio, Marvin Zuercher is coming out Thursday evening and staying with us through Sunday. We'll see what kind of fun we can have. There are regular classes, special meals, and of course the AVDS stuff that he is specifically coming for, Hesston College's Anabaptist Vision and Discipleship Series (AVDS) this weekend. Follow any of these links for a good time. Shane Hipps is a Mennonite pastor the keynote speaker talking about media and ministry. There will be both large group sessions and workshops lead by other local leaders, including some local Beachy Amish church leaders who have cell phones, while I heard rumors that Shane Hipps the media connected pastor of a very large urban church does not have a cell phone. It is one of those great opportunities that only make themselves available once in a long while, and it is right here at the college. Not to be missed.