Christmas!

Well, I'm back at SPEC now. We all returned to 140 people at our home (which it is now - our home. yay!). We hosted the Volunteers conference - so all of the volunteers in England came to stay, and we went on retreat together. It was a grand time, and we had Sister Judith speak, and boy is she a story teller - 280 eyes were glued on her the whole time.

To be honest it was a little crazy coming back to that type of atmosphere when all we wanted to do was see each other again and catch up. We weren't all in the mood to meet a whole load of new people. So my earlier sense of energy and hope for the new year was a little bit dampened. But it picked right back up as the conference went on - and my joy really picked back up when we were able to gather together as a community again. The atmosphere around here is different. There is so much energy, so much hope, so much joy. Much more than was there last term. It's as if the break was what everybody needed to realize the potential there is in this place and in each other. We are so much more a family now - I am very hopeful.

Hope is a word that came to me over Christmas. I was contemplating the 'true meaning of Christmas', which comes up every year, and the answer is usually 'Jesus'. To be honest, my answer would always be 'family' in the past, but this year challenged that, as I was far from Mom, Dad, Meg, Dan, Grama, Nona, Scott, The Mark Suttons, and so many other close family and friends.

I'm going to give an excerpt from my journal, as it shows the thought process:

I have experienced the true meaning of Christmas. I'm quite sure, actually, that I experience this every year. Family getting together. I mean, I know the answer is supposed to be Jesus, but maybe it's a matter of a morphing meaning through the years - can you ever define what the meaning of a day is? When you're 4, it is about presents for you, so how can one define it as 'wrong' when that is what it is? Anyway, this beautiful famil took us in and treated us as their own. God provided through tem. How does that connect to Jesus' birth? The homelessness bit? The family part I suppose... Sometimes its hard for me to separate Jesus's birth from his death. I suppose Easter is more about forgivness of sins, the proof of unconditional love, and everlasting life. But what meaning does Jesus's birth have? What's the focal point? Hope? Jesus the saviour is born. Good times are near... an epiphany comes soon. Yea, that's it. Hope.

There's certainly more thought process since, but it's the beginning of a fun exploration :)

As that hinted at, Scotland was a HUGE blessing. The Haldane family reminded me a lot of my own, and truly took Annika, Anthony, and I in as their own children. It was wonderful to be in a family again. Anna's brothers were so much fun to play music with, study an atlas with, and just hang around with. We walked on beaches (The one in St. Andrews is featured in Chariots of Fire! yes, we ran!), saw cathedrals, and met a lot of great family. The Christmas traditions were fun - an Advent song as we lit candles leading up to Christmas, Christmas Crakers that have prizes in them and leaving Rudolph a carrot, and for Santa a cookie and a beer. We spent a lot of time with family friends just playing games! It was impressed upon me the importance of friends. The Haldanes were so welcoming to anyone who called or stopped by. There was always a bowl of soup or a quick cup of tea. Nothing too huge, but such a comfort to those who were struggling or stressed - a sense of normality, hospitality, and family. Scotland is my new favourite place, and I am going to move there. Currently, my list is 14 items long. Here we go:

1. Royal Bank of Scotland (the one we are all with)

2. Anna and the Haldane Family

3. A store entitled: "Thistle Do Nicely" (that one's for you dad!)

4. Scottish Accent

5. Friendly People

6. Hills and the Highlands

7. Dancing

8. Kilts and Tartan

9. Natural Beauty

10. Castles!

11. Cobblestone

12. Local feel

13. Beaches

14. Walking

The list continues to grow :)

Other quick business not really related to Christmas... It has been a while...

I have gotten an acceptance letter from Concordia, St. Paul in Minnesota! 1 down, 2 to go!

Just finished a fabulous retreat with 29 16 year old boys who had the perfect balance of rowdy and respectful. During every break they had, they were playing dodgeball in our living room with a designated referee and everything! They were surprisingly open about faith and God, and had TONS of questions during 'quiz the priest' including: what if there is no afterlife? and If God knows all of our days, do we really have free will?'. I was blessed to be able to work with them.

Lutherwood keeps providing fun songs and games to share with the community. I have had a request for 'the birdie song' to wake up a fellow team member in the morning :)

General prayers for the world. Specifically Gaza and Zimbabwe. I am continually surprised at how much more globally aware I am here. Maybe it's europe, maybe it's living with people from all over the world, maybe it's just me becoming more aware. Also the Whatcom County area, as the weather has been insane - flooding, power outages, rain... It's all over the place, people have been evacuated from homes. For some hope and some improvement.

I love you all and pray that you are safe, happy, and getting challenged at some point in your days!

Cheers m'dears!

For more Pictures of Christmas Adventures at SPEC, click here
For pictures of the Christmas Party dinner, click here
For pictures of White Elephant at the Christmas Party, click here
For More Scotland picures, click here
For even More Scotland pictures, click here