It's a Small (Mennonite) World After All
I have felt a little funny hanging out here at Faith Builders. "Everyone" else was busy and I? I was to be seen visiting classes, eating in the cafeteria and reading a book in front of the dorms. Basically, not being very productive, la, la.
On Tuesday it dawned on me that perhaps I could make myself "useful"... so Wednesday found me "sweeping" the personal care home (brought back memories of my old cleaning job - except that there were delightfully no elderly people sleeping in any of the rooms as I vacuumed) and chopping vegetables in the Faith Builders kitchen. So good to at least feel and look slightly industrious! Tuesday evening I also got to help weed Wilbur Graybill's corn patch - talk about getting dirty! The fellowship was good, too.
My friend DA had arranged her marriage for Friday, so the previous day my brother and I departed on a little road trip to Michigan. The travel time was good for talking and reading from "Our Mutual Friend" (book persists at being strange - I have yet to determine if the message of the book is of redeeming value). I am becoming old and boring, I guess, because an 8.5 hour trip is quite bearable compared to the torture it would have seemed in my younger years. It is good, however, that time goes faster for non-mobile elderly than for youth - maybe it keeps them from getting as impatient with their lot in life. Why does it go faster for them?
What a time of seeing people from auld lang syne. We met up with a couple who stayed at our place 7.5 years ago in CA. It was sort of like turning the clock back as we visited with the bride's family, near whom we lived in CA. It was good to hear the parents' hearts for God - it's encouraging to see people who are still pressing on toward the mark.
At the wedding reception there was a sizable quantity of the typical Mennonite "oh, you're from Oregon? do you know... Marion Schrock, Nolan Bechtel, Esther Wolfer, Carol Shank..." One lady said "I'm curious about you" and asked who I was. I disappointed her a bit, I guess - wasn't who she expected me to be - but I asked who she had thought I was, and turns out I knew the family (even though they live in Tennessee, not Oregon) and my dad used to refer to one of their daughters as my separated-at-birth twin.
We may have set a new Varney record Saturday when we departed at 6:20 am.
The Lancaster County youths at Faith Builders had planned some activities for Saturday evening. The most hilarious was water balloon/sheet volleyball. For the uninformed (as I was before yesterday), there were two groups on each side, one sheet per group. A water balloon was placed in one sheet and the group was supposed to use their sheet to toss the balloon over the net. The opposing groups were to catch the balloon in one of their sheets.
When that was completed, we took our somewhat hoarse voices into the science lab and sang out of "Songs of Faith and Praise." It's been fun learning new songs in the last week and a half - great for my sight reading practice (which contributes to one of my goals from May), especially when the songs are in round notes.
One more day in PA - and then I'm back to good ole' Oregon.
On Tuesday it dawned on me that perhaps I could make myself "useful"... so Wednesday found me "sweeping" the personal care home (brought back memories of my old cleaning job - except that there were delightfully no elderly people sleeping in any of the rooms as I vacuumed) and chopping vegetables in the Faith Builders kitchen. So good to at least feel and look slightly industrious! Tuesday evening I also got to help weed Wilbur Graybill's corn patch - talk about getting dirty! The fellowship was good, too.
My friend DA had arranged her marriage for Friday, so the previous day my brother and I departed on a little road trip to Michigan. The travel time was good for talking and reading from "Our Mutual Friend" (book persists at being strange - I have yet to determine if the message of the book is of redeeming value). I am becoming old and boring, I guess, because an 8.5 hour trip is quite bearable compared to the torture it would have seemed in my younger years. It is good, however, that time goes faster for non-mobile elderly than for youth - maybe it keeps them from getting as impatient with their lot in life. Why does it go faster for them?
What a time of seeing people from auld lang syne. We met up with a couple who stayed at our place 7.5 years ago in CA. It was sort of like turning the clock back as we visited with the bride's family, near whom we lived in CA. It was good to hear the parents' hearts for God - it's encouraging to see people who are still pressing on toward the mark.
At the wedding reception there was a sizable quantity of the typical Mennonite "oh, you're from Oregon? do you know... Marion Schrock, Nolan Bechtel, Esther Wolfer, Carol Shank..." One lady said "I'm curious about you" and asked who I was. I disappointed her a bit, I guess - wasn't who she expected me to be - but I asked who she had thought I was, and turns out I knew the family (even though they live in Tennessee, not Oregon) and my dad used to refer to one of their daughters as my separated-at-birth twin.
We may have set a new Varney record Saturday when we departed at 6:20 am.
The Lancaster County youths at Faith Builders had planned some activities for Saturday evening. The most hilarious was water balloon/sheet volleyball. For the uninformed (as I was before yesterday), there were two groups on each side, one sheet per group. A water balloon was placed in one sheet and the group was supposed to use their sheet to toss the balloon over the net. The opposing groups were to catch the balloon in one of their sheets.
When that was completed, we took our somewhat hoarse voices into the science lab and sang out of "Songs of Faith and Praise." It's been fun learning new songs in the last week and a half - great for my sight reading practice (which contributes to one of my goals from May), especially when the songs are in round notes.
One more day in PA - and then I'm back to good ole' Oregon.
posted by Claire at 12:06
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