Last Couple of Weeks in My Life

Man, you know it's hard writing a post when you're following someone who's writing from Barcelona! I kinda feel sometimes like I haven't done anything extra special that I should blog about. So that's how I feel about what I've been doing lately except...

Mondays have been church-league volleyball night for the last couple of months, and it's been a lot of fun. We actually have not lost a match all season! Tournament is next weekend. We've never won a volleyball championship yet, but this may be the year. Maybe it has something to do with our awesome setter, Hannah Helmuth!

Tuesdays have come to be one of my favorite days of the week now because Micah and I have made that our day to get together in the evening. We meet at a basketball court when I get off work and play one-on-one (we'll be ready for you when you get back Dietrich! Watch out!). Then we go to his and Krista's little house out in country and have pizza dinner and talk/watch a movie/whatever. It's great to have this friend time to look forward to each week.

Wednesday evenings are still my absolute favorite though. Our Young Adults Fellowship (out of Dayton) is wonderful. It's what I have considered my real, solid church over the past two years, and it continues to be. Our discussions have been Christ-centered, powerful, vibrant, relevant, encouraging. We've been studying Blue Like Jazz along with the Bible over the past several months, which has been fun too, as anyone could guess who has read it. We've had our own conversations right along-side him about worship, relationships, money, love, etc...

Friday evenings are set aside for me and my little brother, Jeremy. One Friday we enjoyed racing at Fast Traxx in Waynesboro, a little race track. It reminded me of when we were younger and Dad would take us to those every once in a while. Fun stuff! This Friday we played dodge ball up and down the stairs for a little and then we went outside and I ran around while Jeremy tried to shoot me with his new little BB gun (it's not very powerful, and I was wearing my glasses) . He only got me once, stinging me a little on the neck just behind and below my ear :).

Today I attended a Changing Church Conference co-hosted by EMSeminary and VMMissions. Talk about dedicated...giving up a Saturday for a long discussion dialogue about the church--where it's come from and going. Yeah, I'm feeling a little self-righteous about that one...especially since Dad knew about it and didn't go :).

But this evening gave me a chance to chill; I went to a good, old-fashioned Harvest Party, hosted by my Eller friends up in Verona (some of you know them). Good times: reuniting with a bunch of good Bridgewater friends I hadn't seen in a long time; playing soccer with a mass of bodies ages 6 to 50; a hay ride singing songs and enjoying the sunset; watching kids go after a pinata; wassail; a praise and worship session with two guitars, a djembe, bongos, mandolin, and a shaky-shaky egg. It was good for my soul. I sang all the way back home.

waiting in line for a whack at the pinata
finally gets a chance
i actually caught the moment somehow! luck :)
Betsy is doing well. We continue to be in touch as often as we're allowed and the date is getting closer when she leaves for South Africa. I'll get to see her twice before she leaves, actually 2 weekends in a row. Commissioning is the weekend of Nov 17-18, then I'll go back out just after Thanksgiving to visit and say goodbye (she leaves that weekend). She continues to be a very exciting part of my life. I wish that she could meet Tom, Candice, Claire, Eliza, Jason, Carmen, Dara and Lydia. Hopefully someday.

Blessings and love to you all. I promise I don't forget you; I think and pray about you all often, missing you all the while!

Philip