Epic Things About Oklahoma

Hello, friends! I promise this blog will be slightly longer than the last one. Not because I'm less tired, because I'm probably more tired, but because so much has happened and I want to share it with you! For your reading pleasure, I present to you: Epic Things About Oklahoma.

1. The people!! I am enjoying getting to know the people at Redeemer so very much. I've met people between the ages of 3 months and 92 years and have enjoyed all of them. A specific story for you: a wonderful couple from church invited me to dinner and gave me quite the extensive tour of Enid. They're both photographers, and I loved seeing their studio!

2. The church! Let me tell you, the sanctuary alone would make me love Redeemer. It's recently redone with beautiful stained glass and incredible architecture. But apart from the sanctuary, I'm a fan of pretty much everything! A specific story for you: we have such an abundance of classrooms that I have a room for my confirmation class that is only ever used for my confirmation class. Hooray for not having to clean up every Wednesday!

3. The town! Oklahoma and Iowa feel like they're cut from the same mold. I'm loving it here. The weather has been great, and today I found a cool walking trail. A specific story for you: Wednesday night, Audrey House and I went on a trip to Camp Lutherhaven. Not only was the camp incredibly amazing, we passed by some mesas not far from Enid that look like perfect hiking material.

4. The district! I got to meet a bunch of Oklahoma district folks at the bi-annual convention at the beginning of this week. They are pretty cool, let me tell you. A specific story for you: I spent a few hours with a group of DCEs planning a high school youth gathering. Insert high-pitched squeal at the realization of a church work nerd's dream.

5. This girl!

Today I adopted a beautiful shepherd/lab mix named Kensi. We spent the day learning about each other. I learned that she knows how to sit on command, catch tennis balls in midair, and play tug-of-war. Meanwhile, she learned that me being out of sight for more than ten seconds is not cause for alarm. (We're still working on that last part. But there has been progress!)

6. The people! I know, I said that already. But some exciting people are showing up tomorrow to celebrate my installation and commissioning on Sunday. I'm very much looking forward to it!!

Was that enough exclamation points for you? I hope so, because I need to go take a certain dog for a walk. Good night!