Sub zero
/It's often that, here. Sub zero. So.Entirely.Cold!
The snow has hardened and it less fun to play in than when it was fresh. We spend very little time outside and starting to adapt to a winter life lived indoors. How I long for spring, but I am embracing the four-walls and the extra time that gives me around the boys. We get a whole lot more school done each day here than we ever did in any of our temperate climate locations. We will all be very grateful when the cold it through and the grass starts showing again, though with the amount of snow we have that may be into the early summer! ha!
A few months ago Josh and I received an email from our church's office inviting us to travel to Minneapolis for the annual "Bethlehem Pastor's Conference". I wrote back, asking if the email had been sent to us by mistake and we were reassured it was indeed no mistake. We jumped at the chance, so eager for so many reason! We haven't had more than a a short stint away from the boys since our 5th anniversary nearly 7 years ago. The last year has been taxing and we were really excited at the chance to get some time to just the two of us, but not to a "destination" as would be usual, but to a pastor's conference to learn together. And OH the learning that was had! We both decided that is the way we want to do our get aways from now on. The growth, confirmation and bonding that happened there is immeasurable and we are so utterly grateful for the Lord's provision in making a way for that to happen for us. We backed out of our garage at 3am with our loaded van last Saturday to make our way to Omaha to leave the boys with Josh's parents. They were not actually IN town when we arrived, but we spent the evening recouping from our 11 hour drive and went to their church the next morning there in Bellevue. They were scheduled to arrive back in town no earlier than 7pm, so a babysitter was lined up (we hope to reconnect with that family at some point - what servant hearts!) where we dropped the boys and were on our way north to Minneapolis. We passed Rob and Lyn about and hour and a half into the trip, honking and flashing our lights because we'd coordinated on text and phone to say a hello as we passed. Very dweaby, yes.
We arrive in the city late and went to bed greatly anticipating the next morning and what the next three days would hold. Neither or us have been to a pastoral conference and I haven't been to any conference at all since student conferences in high school, so we weren't sure what to expect.
The next three days held classes we were able to select to take on particular topics, a bookstore that felt like a candy store, meeting a man that we hold so much respect for and that has helped our spiritually growth tremendously over the past couple of years, John Piper. It included worshiping in a auditorium with several hundred other believers and sitting under the teaching of some seriously gifted, humble and Godly men who's hearts desire is to drive home the beauty of the gospel and encourage pastors (and lay people like us) to carry that beautiful message forth into our church bodies and communities. The time we were able to have with our Pastor and the couple of Elders and one other wife that came with were precious.
Difficult topics like racial equality, the great commission and the offensiveness of the gospel were all dissected and it was all so very enriching to our souls. Neither of us anticipated the amount of growth and rest we would receive while there! And along with that came further confirmation that both of us feel strongly that we need to be obedient in pursuing overseas missions once our military commitment ends this coming summer. We feel all the more eager and the call feels all the more urgent after sitting under the teaching there and learning the things we learned. Our hearts are being prepared even as we embrace the season we are currently in here in Minot.
We headed back down to Omaha feeling emotionally, spiritually, and physically rested and rejuvenated. Our entire 6 hours home was spent in robust conversation about the topics of the conference and about the direction we believe the Lord is calling us to walk.
We spent Thursday and Friday in Omaha - our time with Rob and Lyn is always a joy (truly) and gave us even more of a sense of rest. We left Omaha at 4am on Saturday morning to make the trek home, stopping for breakfast and then again for lunch to meet up with the Goodrichs' (minus Jessica who was at a conference that day), our dear friends from Turkey who are now stationed in Grand Forks, ND. I type this nearly 3 weeks later - the past three weeks have been filled with illness (stomach bug and then upper respiratory) that is circulating it's way around seemingly every living body on base and in the Minot area. We are behind in school, the house is still showing signs of disarray from when we were gone and I'm finding it wretchedly difficult to curb the rather severe case of Spring Fever that I've caught. The temps have been up in the high 30s and the low 40s the past few days and I am just so entirely ready for spring that I ordered a pair of shorts on amazon and started going through my warm weather clothing in the shelf in my closet.....ha! As if I will be utilize any of that anytime soon! haha! Goodness. My temperate climate habits are still deep in there and I find I remind myself time and time again that ND doesn't function like Florida, or the Azores or Turkey. Spring isn't starting - we've got a ways to go before we reach that most wonderful season of all.