(I know this was awhile ago, butI wanted to at least post one picture from my experience. This is the group picture we took at the Middle School retreat)
I'm not going to lie: I am pretty much coasting through the rest of the semester. The only actual "work" I have to do in these next few weeks is write an 8 page paper, but it's very reflective and open-ended so I'm not even worried about it. Things I have to look forward to: my last two Youth Groups, my last two Sunday Schools, LIGHT UP NIGHT (more to come on that), Judah Project recitals, internship fieldtrips, probably some more guitar hero, two more great FNC dinners, and a week off with no class.
This Saturday is LIGHT UP NIGHT at Easminster. I feel like people have been talking about this even since I arrived in August. From the sound of it, though, it should live up to its reputation. First of all, we get to shut down Highland Avenue and throw a parade complete with the procession of the live nativity including Wise Men with CAMELS!!!, bagpipers, high-steppers, and who knows what else. Once the parade is over there are free horse-drawn carriage rides, tons of free cookies, hot-dogs, Christmas caroling, the live nativity, and an adaption of A Christmas Carol put on by people in the church. I had thought they might ask me to be a Wise Man (which would mean I would get to play with the camels), but alas I apparently didn't make the cut. I will get to do Christmas caroling with the praise band and help with the Youth Group Booth. I've been told that hundreds and hundreds of people come out for this every year and a bunch of the church's members found their way to Eastminster simply because they had a good time at this event. I'm mega pumped.
It is bittersweet, though, because I'm starting to realize that I only have so much time left with these people that have become my family. There is this little old black lady who serves as assistant secretary for the church who I always talk to whenever I come down to make copies. The other day I walked in and talked to her for awhile, and she showed me that in the front of her devotional book in blue permanent marker she had written "Mark" because she has a hard time remembering my name. How cute is that? I told her that I would be leaving in two weeks and she just kind of looked at me, visibly upset. Not many people in the church seem to realize that I'm only here for the semester, and when I tell them I really feel like it breaks both our hearts to think of me leaving. I guess I will just have to rest in the fact of knowing that I will always have a home in Pittsburgh.
Gear shift: I have resolved to push myself to do a triathlon. I already love to swim and run, so adding biking seems like the next step. The thing is, I haven't owned a bike since middle school. At first I looked into how much it would cost for me to get a decent but not fancy bike so I could do the race. That got discouraging simply because I didn't want to throw that much money into something I have no idea what I'm getting myself into. But I talked to my uncle at Thanksgiving who has done some major biking events and he said that he would let me borrow his old bike and give me some tips if I wanted. (I also found out that he and everyone else in my extended family read this blog, so I guess this is my way of letting him know that I'd like to take him up on his offer.) I looked up races in Ohio and found on in Sylvania on August 10th. That will be perfect for me to train all summer at camp. It just feels good to focus my energy toward something instead of just aimlessly floating through life.
"It seems to me that one ought to rejoice in the fact of death--ought to decide, indeed, to earn one's death by confronting with passion the conundrum of life." (from James Baldwin, The Fire Next Time)
This Saturday is LIGHT UP NIGHT at Easminster. I feel like people have been talking about this even since I arrived in August. From the sound of it, though, it should live up to its reputation. First of all, we get to shut down Highland Avenue and throw a parade complete with the procession of the live nativity including Wise Men with CAMELS!!!, bagpipers, high-steppers, and who knows what else. Once the parade is over there are free horse-drawn carriage rides, tons of free cookies, hot-dogs, Christmas caroling, the live nativity, and an adaption of A Christmas Carol put on by people in the church. I had thought they might ask me to be a Wise Man (which would mean I would get to play with the camels), but alas I apparently didn't make the cut. I will get to do Christmas caroling with the praise band and help with the Youth Group Booth. I've been told that hundreds and hundreds of people come out for this every year and a bunch of the church's members found their way to Eastminster simply because they had a good time at this event. I'm mega pumped.
It is bittersweet, though, because I'm starting to realize that I only have so much time left with these people that have become my family. There is this little old black lady who serves as assistant secretary for the church who I always talk to whenever I come down to make copies. The other day I walked in and talked to her for awhile, and she showed me that in the front of her devotional book in blue permanent marker she had written "Mark" because she has a hard time remembering my name. How cute is that? I told her that I would be leaving in two weeks and she just kind of looked at me, visibly upset. Not many people in the church seem to realize that I'm only here for the semester, and when I tell them I really feel like it breaks both our hearts to think of me leaving. I guess I will just have to rest in the fact of knowing that I will always have a home in Pittsburgh.
Gear shift: I have resolved to push myself to do a triathlon. I already love to swim and run, so adding biking seems like the next step. The thing is, I haven't owned a bike since middle school. At first I looked into how much it would cost for me to get a decent but not fancy bike so I could do the race. That got discouraging simply because I didn't want to throw that much money into something I have no idea what I'm getting myself into. But I talked to my uncle at Thanksgiving who has done some major biking events and he said that he would let me borrow his old bike and give me some tips if I wanted. (I also found out that he and everyone else in my extended family read this blog, so I guess this is my way of letting him know that I'd like to take him up on his offer.) I looked up races in Ohio and found on in Sylvania on August 10th. That will be perfect for me to train all summer at camp. It just feels good to focus my energy toward something instead of just aimlessly floating through life.
"It seems to me that one ought to rejoice in the fact of death--ought to decide, indeed, to earn one's death by confronting with passion the conundrum of life." (from James Baldwin, The Fire Next Time)
