Thoughts early in internship

I have to share some thoughts about my early experiences in internship, so here we go. The first is more of a funny story than a thought, though if you think about it, it could be a thought! I went visiting some of the patriarchs/matriarchs of one of the churches I serve and as you might have guessed, this involved going to a farm (okay, you may not have assumed that, but now you know that a lot of people farm in Lost Nation and Oxford Junction). As I crossed the little bridge over the roadside creek/crick, I saw a dog come running toward the long drive. I thought to myself, "ah, the prototypical farm dog." The closer I got, the more I realized that this dog didn't seem all that welcoming, rather, he seemed more daunting. As I pulled up to the house, my soon-to-be host appeared at the screen door adorned in his pinstriped bib overalls and before I opened the door he opened the screen door. I stepped out to be greeted by TWO dogs, one of which I petted only to find out that he was REALLY wet, like, did this dog just get out of the shower? NO, 'cause this dog SMELLED! Okay, nice doggy. Next, the dog who followed me up the drive came up to me and I put my hand out in the universal "here, sniff my hand and see that I'm okay dog" move. This quickly turned into me scratching the dogs head. As I walked up to the door, my host announced, "huh, he usually latches on to a leg or somethin' - doesn't break the skin, ya know, well come on in." Now, inner dialogue is running at high speed and I'm thinking to myself "you stood in the door, knowing who I was, and you didn't say anything to Gus (that's his name as it turns out) the dog about NOT latching on to the intern pastor?" Oh well, it was a great visit and Gus chased my Suburban all the way back down the drive as I left, I'm pretty sure the driver's side running board is shorter now and Gus may be light one tooth.

Anywho, the first few weeks have been great. I'm trying to learn how to let go of my urge to run in hyper-speed mode and just relax into the pace of ministry/life in a rural setting. I've met some wonderful people and the pastor and associate in ministry are great people too.

This past week I was home sick for TWO days! I only made it through half the day on Friday before I had to head home. Saturday was even a low energy day, but I'm hoping today (yup, it's Sunday and I'm up silly early) will be my best day and that I'll actually be able to talk as I help lead worship at both churches. I also hope I'm up to full speed because following worship in Oxford Junction, the Catholic church is hosting a fall festival of sorts. We are going to attend and have lunch since they are have a "chicken fry" prepared by the Catholic ladies (that's how THEY billed it, not me!). Should be good and a great way to get out in the community to meet people.

Okay, last note, see that Jib-Jab window on the right? You GOTTA click on it and watch the video. It's Lorice and I dancing, well, disco dancing really. Only it's not really us....well, you just have to watch it. Enjoy and I'll be back with another update soon.