Retreat 2!

Here we go again! Tomorrow afternoon I'll be heading out to Deception Pass with the INN staff. Jim pointed out today that this will be retreat 4 that we've been on together in the last six weeks! Wow, I can't believe it's been that long, or that many retreats. I can't believe this is my job. Awesome.

The retreat tomorrow is different then any other retreat I've ever been to. I mean, it is the INN's fall retreat, to the same place I've been going as a student the last three years, but different still. Instead of the traditional retreat model with big speakers coming to teach us things over the weekend, we're having staff led discussion groups. Being creative we(Lindsay, actually) came up with funny song titles to represent each seminar. Mine is, "Money money money money. Money!" You might be able to guess the topic. I'm pretty excited about it, but having a little bit of a struggle coming up ways that it can be discussed. As of tonight it doesn't seem to lend itself to much of a forum, but we'll see. I've got tomorrow to do some more planning.

More exciting than discussion groups are the people coming on the retreat. A great friend from my recent adventures may be coming along. Pray that she finds community, support and encouragement in this group like so many others have found.

More Murdock Retreat Stuff!

Cross-posted from: http://www.theinnministries.org/category/interns/

We’re back from our Vision and Call Retreat for the Murdock foundation! The M.J. Murdock Charitable Trust is the organization that is funding the internship this year, and we are incredibly grateful for them. As if receiving the grant wasn’t enough though, this last weekend they sponsored a retreat for all the interns they were supporting this year. We gathered in beautiful Yelm, WA near Elbow Lake with 70 other interns from all over the northwest. Together we enjoyed getting to know each other, meals, great speakers and more.

One especially encouraging aspect of the retreat for me was the getting to meet all different types of interns. We met interns from Youth Dynamics, YoungLife, Youth for Christ, and many more. In our small groups, it was great to hear all the different perspectives on ministry and the ways that each of our organizations impacts the culture of our surrounding areas.

Another positive aspect of the retreat was learning how much the trust really cares for the work that we’re doing. Throughout the weekend they put a lot of effort into getting to know us and providing different activities to help us get to know each other. For more than just personal financial reasons, I’m very glad we received this grant this year now. I know that behind the money is an organization that is praying for all of us, deeply interested in how we’re doing, and interested in getting us connected with other ministries to learn and grow.

October 15th, 2008 - Posted by Stead Halstead

Rubicon

I just got back from the Murdock Vission and Call intern retreat. It was a great weekend of hanging out with the other interns, meeting interns from all over the northwest, and a bit of fun. The folks from Murdock were awesome to us and I think we all had a good time, and walked away with a much better understanding of what the trust is all about and how much they care for what we're doing.

Part of our adventure was getting the opportunity to take part in the camp's little activities during our freetime. Our girl interns decided to go horseback riding together, so Ty and I headed over the the Rubicon, aka the ATV driving challenge course. At first glance, these souped up go-carts don't catch the eye as a fun thing to do, as they blaze through the ~200' long track at an incredible 3 miles per hour. I'll admit, I was skeptical.

Ty and I jumped on to try it. These golf cart like vehciles were on a course that was layed out with drops, stumps, pipes, and all sorts of things to drive over. Even with the slow speed, we had a great time out there.

Probably a little more on the retreat at some point in the future. For now though, I need to get some sleep. At tomorrow at 5am I'll be heading down to Seattle to Alaska Marine Lines(aka, the barge). I'm picking up the last of our stuff and bringing it back up to Bellingham before we have Check-in @ the INN at noon. I wish I didn't have to go, but tomorrow is perfect for the trip. It would have been really convenient if I could have picked up that stuff when we passed through Seattle today, but unfortunately they're not open on Sundays.

Oh well.

I hope things are well with all who read this!

Sabbath, Sickness, and Waves

Before I knew it, another week passed by at the INN. We've got all the students in small groups that have signed up so far and things are going fantastically, from what I've heard from group leaders so far. I've had some good student meetings in the last week and heard stories of excitement again and again. This is going to be a great year.

At the end of the second week of classes for the students, on Friday night, we had Sabbath. This is a time of extended worship, rest, relaxation, and discovering different ways to worship. This Sabbath focused on the question "Who do you say that I am?". While this question seems simple, when God asks it of each one of us, the responses vary by person. A big reason for this is that we can't come up with any words or expressions that do God justice and capture all He is. God speaks into each of our lives differently, causing many different responses. The picture is Sarah and I near the center piece of the room for the evening. On a table cloth on the floor, we made a large parenthesis of candles, symbolizing that no matter how many names we come up with for God, we still can't come up with a definite name.

Unfortunately, all the excitement of the last few weeks had me feeling a little under the weather, so I spent all day Saturday sleeping and watching movies. The movies were quite relaxing and exactly what I needed. Feeling better after laying around for the afternoon, Zach, Bryce and I ran out to Z. Point Park to watch the waves crashing on the Jetty. It was awesome, windy, and amazing.

I'm starting to feel more back to normal here. The last month was a tough one with the transition between Alaska and Bellingham and leaving friends behind and trying to pick up with new ones wherever we may have left off. Oh well, I'm getting there!

Busy Times!

Man, it's been really busy here. I've loved the internship so far. Good, challenging at times, and lots of great people to work with. Earlier this week was the first INN, which seemed to go decently smoothly, minus a glitch in the video I made. The glitch was pretty ugly: no sound for a portion of the clips. Dang.

Tonight we have our Fountain Festival in Red Square on campus. It'll be a great night of music, games, chalking, and all sorts of things. It looks like a nice day out there, so hopefully we won't have to make a run for the VU MPR in case of rain. We'll see though.

Here's a picture of the people that I've spent most my Bellingham hours with over the last four weeks. They're all amazing:

Bellingham is Nice.

It is so nice to be back in Bellingham again. While I miss Alaska quite a bit, things are starting to fall into place here and make it a nice place to be. After moving into my host family's home on tuesday, I took off to Camano Island for the INN staff retreat. The retreat focused mainly on getting to know each other again and that sort of thing. I had a great time, and it was fantastic seeing everyone again and getting to relax a little before the crazy times come. 

After the retreat, I spent some time walking across campus, seeing what's changed and taking a little time to pray for whatever might happen here this year. One of my goals this year is to spend more large sections of time praying for what is going on and for wisdom. As I walked across campus, it had a distinctly different feel for me than what I left behind a short 2.5 months ago at graduation. Instead of a looking at classrooms and thinking back to the classes I had taken there, I could only keep thinking that this is my mission field. It makes me excited and terrified for whatever might come. Actually, more excited than terrified. Pray that I'll be flexible enough that I can see God moving in the quick pace of the year.

To remind me that this is my mission field, I took a few picture that I'm planning on having somewhere around my work area at the INN to look at from time to time. A trip across campus on a beautiful night wouldn't be complete without some pictures taken anyway. They're right here. 

This morning I visited the farmer's market with some friends and met some new ones. Its still a little overwhelming trying to remember who I know and don't know, but I'll get over it. The juggler at the market upped his act a bit this year with some funny jokes and fire. It was actually pretty good!

Home.

It's been a nice few days in Maple Valley, but I've found myself bored. I noted to a friend last night how lonely it is to be in the quiet now, after being surrounded by noise and community for the last 2.5 months. I deeply miss all the other drivers.

What isn't helping all this is that I missed the chance to say goodbye to many of them. With everyone's crazy schedules, I didn't even realize that I wouldn't see everyone within the last few days. On top of that, my flight left 5 hours before the end of season company party. That would have been a great chance to say goodbye. Crap. At the end of a great Alaskan adventure with tons of stories, great memories, and hopefully lasting friendships, I find myself asking the inverse of the same question I asked myself going into the job. For my first few days, all I could wonder was, "What have I gotten myself into?", in almost a funny way. Now I've started to wonder what I've left behind.

On a more comical note, what I've left behind is something I've been pondering on a more physical level too. I came in with 96 pounds of checked and carry on's, and with at least 100lbs on the barge. I left with 75 checked and carry on items, and maybe 50 pounds at most for the barge. Where did all that stuff go? Some of the barge stuff was food... but still. I even brought back some gifts for my family!

There are some items that I'm well aware of now that I've left behind. My tent is in the closet, alongside my wet towel. I would imagine some tips are still inbetween the matresses. To even get cheesy, a little bit of my heart is in Skagway(and liarsville). I long to drive a 1983 MCI motor coach.

This transition time between two great adventures is tough. Tomorrow I embark to Bellingham, to move in with my host family, see friends, and get set up again. On Wednesday, the larger, and I dare to say, greater, adventure begins. Here I go!