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An Update!

I am very sorry for the length of time it has been since my last update. As you may imagine, things have been pretty busy and I just now am having a chance to update this blog!

Outside of internship, my time has been spent doing the basic household stuff, and working on Asher and Jacob's Friends. For those who do not know, this is a volunteer group dedicated to praying for and offering support to parents who have lost a child or have one who is seriously ill. If you would like to join, just go to the link on the adorable picture of my monkey nephew!

Other than that, I have been enjoying my work at the church! I just now got back from a Harvest Party. The children were adorable as usual. I went as "Olga the Sleepy Viking!" I took a short nap this afternoon and figured why get out of my pajamas when it is a costume party! I knew I could work it into my costume somehow. It worked wonderfully and was oh so comfortable!

The town has been very windy and cold this week. At the halloween parade I nearly froze my toes off. In actuality, I love this time of year. It is so pretty and the cold gets me in the mood for the upcoming holidays. As a native northwesterner, I have learned to appreciate the rain and "dreary" days. My perfect way to spent it would be curled up in my pajamas with some hot chocolate and a good movie (I read enough for school and work!). I am looking forward to having a tree in the corner of the room too, as it makes the mood just right!

Well, that is all for now. Please check out the updates on the friends list below. This time of year tends to be rough for so many families.

-Vicar Laura

Busy Busy Busy!

Wow, I cannot believe it has been so long since I have done an update! I guess things have kept fairly busy over here. I am enjoying work immensely, though had to slow down a bit this week. I got a pretty nasty cold and lost my voice for a few days, but it seems to be clearing up. I am so grateful for this, as this upcoming weekend I have a senior high retreat. It really wouldn't be good to have no voice when trying to lead Bible studies, would it?!

Other than that, it has just been the basic busyness of work. Next week I will begin doing home Communion. I am looking forward to this, as it will give me an opportunity to meet congregational members I have not had the chance to get out to see. Also, I will be heading back to Gettysburg for a day of lectures. I'm honestly not looking forward to the lectures, but it will be good to see some friends I haven't seen in a while. Please check out the updates on Asher's Friend's list. It saddens me the list continues to grow. I love being introduced to new families, but I hate that more children are ill.

Missing Home

This is a picture of my "little" sister Jamie, stepmom Patty, and I at Pike Place Market during my trip home in August. As usually happens during this time of year, I am beginning to miss home a bit. I think it is related to the upcoming holidays. Thankfully, I will go home for thanksgiving and then have family come out for Christmas. I can't wait!

Things have been slowing down some regarding work. Part of me is elated, the other part doesn't know what to do! This is the first time things have really slowed down enough for me to rest a bit and reflect on how life has changed so much in the last 6 weeks. Well, if I really look back, how things have changed in the last six months! Becoming an Aunty to two beautiful boys, losing Jacob, walking out on my job, going to Oklahoma, going to Maine, going BACK to Oklahoma, then Seattle, and finally, my move to Hollidaysburg. I cannot believe how much has happened in such a short period of time. It all seems so surreal.

Off to Bible Club! Till next time...

-Vicar Laura

By the way, I absolutely hate moving Asher's friends to the Angel section. Please keep Jake's and Caleb's family in your prayers. I also added some more angels. It takes some time to add new names, so I am doing it in spurts. Please be on the lookout for more new names in the near future.

Loves Of My Life

I had to show you a picture of my beautiful children, Melancththon and Katharina, and then of course my gorgeous nephew Asher on nasal cannula. Isn't wonderful to see his face?! I am praying so hard soon he will be completely tube and bag free (he also has a colostomy).

Life has been going fairly well this week. I started my Bible Club, which will last for seven weeks and is each thursday night. We had about twelve children show up. I must admit the program was a little rough around the edges, but now that we know about how many kids and what ages I will have the chance to really adapt everything. I am praying the program is successful in teaching the children about the basics of the Lutheran church and is fun for them and us.

Today I went horseback riding for the second time! This trip was with the 5-6th graders. I was much better this time around! I am getting more comfortable with it and actually really enjoyed myself. The mountains are so pretty with all the different colored leaves. I took pictures and will post them soon, possibly tomorrow. Oh, and I was so close to taking home this really cute kitten there at the stables. He was so tiny and oh so cute! Good thing I have a little self-control and my supervisor to remind me that I do not need nor do I want to be a crazy cat lady! :)

Thank you all for checking in on "Aunt Laura", leaving me wonderful comments, and of course for praying.

A Very Proud Aunty

I typically don't use this journal to update on Asher, as he does have his own very popular website, but I am so proud I can't help myself. He has made such strides in the last couple of weeks, with going from the vent to CPAP and lowered oxygen levels. And now, today, he took his first try at nasal cannula and did amazingly well. He also had his first bottle, and was able to take in 5cc's. What an amazing child. I am so ready to hop on a plane! I cannot wait to go down to Oklahoma for his homecoming; I know it will be very soon!

Okay, so now onto vicar life! Thank so much for all your prayers regarding the funeral. It went amazingly well. The family was so gracious towards me and offered such words of encouragement. In some ways, it was almost more like they were ministering to my needs than the other way around. I guess God was using all of us to be there for each other; what a gift.

This weekend I also preached for the second time at this congregation. I felt a little uneasy about my sermon, as I had very little time to write it. It seems God always takes the sermons I think are awful and turns them towards good, as the congregation thought it was wonderful. One area I really need to work on is trusting in the words God has given me in the sermons.

Alright, I am off to go and work on my amazon wishlist. I keep forgetting how close Christmas is getting! I can't wait to get my tree up!

Another First

Hello friends!

I just wanted to jump on here really quick to ask you to please pray for me tomorrow, as I will be doing my first "solo" funeral. Pray that God uses me to minister to the family as they mourn the death of their loved one. Amazingly, I have a sense of peace about it; I can only attribute that to God's presence.

I promise to do a much fuller update in the near future. This week has just been absolute madness and I have not had much of a chance to take a moment to breathe. When I have that opportunity, I will be on here, filling you in on all the details!

-A Very Tired Vicar