Adventures in the West : Settling In....Kind of.

I moved to Lewiston and within 48 hours I was already on the road again. This time I was headed BACK to Coeur d'Alene for a Northwest District Leadership retreat. After living on the same district my whole life, it was weird to be at a district even where I knew no one. We were at a campground that backed up to a river. It was beautiful. We spent the week (Monday through Wednesday that is) in groups doing case studies. In those case studies we would look at pastors/churches and an issue that went with them. The point of the exercise was to determine what should have happened, or what should happen moving forward with the church we read about. It was very interesting to listen to the pastors at my table give different opinions on the different case studies. It was also interesting to see the difference between the Northwest District and the Tennessee (Well I guess we are Midsouth now..) District. The culture is so much different here and it is exciting to learn about that.
Another thing I am having to adjust to here is the weather. Believe it or not there is a place in this world that does not have humidity. That place is called the Pacific Northwest....also known as heaven. Having grown up in the south, I am used to very hot and humid weather in the summer, and I know it is time to start using sun screen because it gets warm right when it is time to start using it again. However the lack of humidity really makes a difference! I have yet to feel really warm yet (except for our three our trip back to Lewiston in a church van with broken A/C). Because of the fact that I haven't really felt hot yet, I forget that it is actually summer and I can still get a sunburn! I got my first one (and hopefully my only one) of the summer on Monday while I was sitting on the dock by the river. It was just a joy to get in a hot shower the next morning and feel like my skin was literally on fire because I had forgotten about my burn.
Yesterday was my first time in youth group. Aaron had my share my testimony with the students. I have never shared that before, and it was really exciting to get to share it with them! I was told I did a good job, so I will have to take their word for that. I love the kids already and can't wait to build deeper relationships with them. Every day that I am out here, my calling into ministry is confirmed, and I have Aaron, Cliff, and Bill (the guys I get to work with at First Naz) to thank for that.
Tomorrow is the start of the NAIA World Series. This is held in Lewiston every year (random place I know). Before Trevecca went to the NCAA, we used to come up here and play in the World Series! This is a huge deal in the valley, and tons of people come down to watch the games. This is also extra exciting for me because I grew up hearing mom tell stories of singing the national anthem for the opening game when she lived here, and now I get to experience the games for myself! I have my sunscreen already ready, and can't wait for a week of baseball and all sorts of fun!

Got to go to a cousin event (I have never gotten to since we live so far away). I got to spend time with Bethany, while we watched Noah's band concert! It was fun, as usual when we are together:)