I guess I'll start with Kim's "surprise" visit. My friend Kim from home showed up at my door on January 31, insisting that I play with her for the next two weeks; and that's exactly what we did. We snowshoed, cross-country skied, rode snowmobiles in the mountains, practiced knitting, practiced skiing down hills, learned Euchre, watched lots of movies, played cards, met most the people in town, and celebrated her birthday. Sometime during all of that, I worked on Bible studies and sermons! It was a very intense two weeks (considering my usual life out here), but two weeks I am very glad for!
Here we are in our snowshoes, taking a break for lunch!
Below is Kim checking out an old mining shaft.
Then, only a couple days after Kim left I headed out to Massachusetts for a visit with old friends there. It was a wonderful time of catching up and relaxing. Also, more than I had ever anticipated, it was spiritually refreshing to be back in an academic environment like Seminary, to go to church and sit in a chair, to worship in song with a full band, etc. I was there for about eight days, which felt like an eternity at the end. I missed Cooke City and the people here and found myself looking forward very much to being back here. But it was a great trip, and one that I think brought a lot of closure to my time out east!
My dear girlfriends from GCTS: Megan, Jane, Laurel, and myself
On February 24, I flew back into Bozeman and met my parents at the airport, who had flown in from Minneapolis that morning, and we rushed back to Cooke City for Bible study. It was a long day of traveling, from a 4.5 hour flight from Mass to Denver, then a 1.5 hour flight from Denver to Bozeman, then a 3.5 hour car ride from the airport home. But my time with the rents was great. We snowmobiled, cross-country skied, snowshoed, did Bible studies, ate out, and joined the Karaoke night at the local bar! Then after church on Sunday we tooka drive up to Great Falls and Lincoln, MT and saw my mom's old stomping grounds. On Tuesday, i dropped them off at the airport and finally drove home with no one in the car! It was a great time, but I am definitely glad to be back to a normal schedule!
Below is a picture of my mom working hard at ice fishing (can't you tell?)! Needless to say, she didn't catch anything!
Here is my dad standing at his ice hole. He wasn't working too hard either! But it was a gorgeous day up in the mountains at 9,000 ft. or so!
And now life is back to normal, and I'm loving it! This place has become my home for a time and it is good to be home!
No comments:
Post a Comment