Sabbatical Summary - Week 4b - Bluffton Friends Visit

Pastor’s Log - Sabbatical Date 3.2.8

Continuing to catch up on my Sabbatical updates.  Week 4 came in the middle of two bookends.  At the beginning of the week, Beth and I got away for a marriage retreat on Mackinac Island.  At the end of the week, we hosted our Bluffton friends at our house for what we have come to realize is a rather odd practice of staying connected to a group of friends 20 years after graduation and all meeting together at someone’s house or church for a weekend to reconnect. For more about what happened the rest of the week, go to the respective blog postings for the marriage weekend and the week 4 summary.  Here is a recap of our weekend with friends…

Saturday (May 25^th), the Michaels arrived in the wee hours of the morning after a late-night drive.  They bedded down in our pop-up camper for what remained of the night.  When we got up, we visited a bit but also continued on our mission of preparing our house for the remaining guests that we expected sometime after lunch.  Unfortunately, they were delayed a bit by a flat tire along the way, but thankfully no one was injured and they were able to get a new tire.  They arrived for a late lunch and we settled into visiting together, catching up and allowing our kids to play together.

Instead of having a traditional dinner together, we took our caravan on 4 vehicles and drove along M-25 to Grindstone General store to get ice cream for our dinner.  For the Michaels, this is a particularly exciting part of their visit due to Grindstone’s allergy protocols that mean both John and Moriah are able to eat something.  For the Mussers and the Adlers, this was a first-time experience that did not disappoint. 

After ice cream, our return trip took us back along M-25 with a stop at Oak Beach.  We had planned to make the stop, certain that with as chilly as the water still is that we would not need bathing suits for the children.  As always, we were wrong.  The pull of the water is just too strong.  A number of our children were sufficiently soaked by the time we loaded up the vans and drove the rest of the way home.  For those who still wanted a more substantial dinner, we ordered pizza from Little Caesars in route and picked it up when we arrived in Pigeon.  This was followed by a late night of visiting before finally making our way to our beds for the night.

Sunday I was up early and got ready before the rush of people needing to get ready for church.  I took a morning walk and read more of You Lost Me while I ate my breakfast outside.  It was a real treat to have a restful Sunday morning before walking to church.  I don’t think that I have walked to church since we lived in West Liberty where I walked as much or more than I drove to church.

I worship with Salem UMC in Pigeon.  The time for their worship was not anywhere that I could find online, which was why I took my initial walk.  Their sign out front had their time for the service.  When I arrived for worship, I was very warmly welcomed upon my arrival for worship and was able to visit with a number of familiar faces. 

I got home first since everyone else attended worship at Pigeon River so I began the preparations for lunch.  We were having haystacks.  We had a relaxing afternoon hanging out together.  I grilled hot dogs, hamburgers and bratwurst for dinner.  That evening after we got the younger children to bed, the adults visited around a campfire in our yard while the older children watched Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace on our outdoor screen that I have up on the side of our house.

Monday (technically the beginning of Week 5), Memorial Day, we visited together a bit more in between families packing up their things.  Unfortunately, Declan had developed quite the outbreak on his skin, so the Adlers worked on treatment options for him before hitting the road.  They were the first to leave since they had the longest drive, going all the way back to Pittsburgh.  The Mussers and Michaels stayed for a simple lunch before also making their way back home.  We missed having the Speros family with us as they were unable to make it this time, but it was such a tremendous blessing to have that time in which we were able to reconnect with deeply held friendships and to share our home and our Michigan lives with them. 

After they left, we began operation clean-up and I began packing for my trip to the Hermitage in Three Rivers, Michigan, for several days of silence and solitude.  But more about that in another blog posting…