i've been busy...

well. it was a full week. i meandered to a place called vienna, virginia for my first intern cluster meeting. i drove past fairfax, viriginia, where rumor has it my friend natalie's parents live! the interns were nice. some i connected with, some i connected with less. one is in DC at a cool church that i had listed as a horizon site i would go to if any came up missing an intern. another intern i connected with is at a horizon site in baltimore that i also listed as a site that i would love to have if no one was assigned to their church. alas. those churches both got lovely interns. but, i will get to see their churches and what they do.

i have decided that i like teaching confirmation. all i do is Bible studies that have a theme. the boys do such a wonderful job. they ask great questions. we read the text together and then i just try to get as many questions out of them as possible. i give a little background and guide a little, but try to let them be curious. today i got a free will question! i can barely explain free will to myself, let alone an eleven year old! it freaked me out, but was fun to try. we laugh alot in confirmation. since almost all the boys play soccer and i don't really know much about the game, i am going to a game next week. one of them is sitting out and another is playing so the one that is sitting out is going to be explaining things to me. i think it will be fun. it will at least let the boys know that i care about them as whole people.

this morning i was introduced to a little boy that is maybe 7 years old. his dad said to the boy that i am from minnesota. the little boy looked at me and said one word, "hockey!" it was the best response i have ever had to being from minnesota. i proceeded to tell the kid about skating on our ponds and how people at Bemidji State would park on the lake in winter. he loved it. in the conversation i was asked if i would go skating...i said i would if they could get a bunch of kids together....uh oh...i haven't ice skated in years. well, i may as well take one for the team. it should be fun, though i am sure i will hurt when it is all done with!


Anneka the Ole!


Oh, Yes...it is an Ole flag!



It takes about ten minutes to walk from my little apartment to this view...seriously! i live on the house side...as opposed to the senate side. i asked if the house and the senate have west side story style gangs and do street rumbles. this was not met with humor. people take politics VERY seriously here.


so, i was walking one evening and low and behold an anti war protest...now you can't really tell, but there are tourists all over the place next to the protesters. i saw one group of east indians holding up a $100 bill so they could get a photo in front of the capitol...next to them was a group of people with an upside down american flag...i wasn't brave enough to take a picture.



Biblical plants at the national botanical gardens...also only ten minutes from me...right on the mall. papyrus...good for all your prophetic rants!




castor beans...rumored to be the plant that grew up around jonah...



not really biblical...but my dad gave me a sensitive plant when i was in first grade. you touch the leaves and they move.


okay...i have never been to any professional sporting events before. ever. in DC everyone wants a new stadium...just like home!!! so, someone had free tickets to the last nationals game played at RFK stadium. a good way to see my first sporting event. the nationals even won! i had to rush there after church...ah the life of a clergy person...