It's me again. I've been here in Baldwin now since Monday night and I must say that I have appreciated the welcome that I've received since I arrived. This includes gift cards to several local businesses. I don't think I'll have to pay for groceries for three weeks. Like any small town, Baldwin is a pretty friendly place. The people are laid back and relatively informal. I have now met several people at the church and each meeting has been good thus far. Pastor Tim has been a riot and we have had a few good laughs. Those of you that know me well, know that I loathe going without laughter for any great length of time. Pastor Tim also has two young children who are quite fun. His son is very rambunctious, no surprise for a child. I haven't met his wife yet because she's been in the Twin Cities at school.
Tuesday was a day of getting settled here. I took a tour of the town that morning and I think that I've been able to get my bearings more quickly here than I did last year in Pella. Pella can be quite confusing at first and it's also a bigger town as well. Baldwin's layout seems to be fairly straightforward. Hopefully I can get a bike soon and that will allow me to do a little more exploring. We also arranged for internet at the place I'm staying at as well. It'll be nice to have that this summer, it'll make it easier to communicate with people from back home.
Wednesday is the day that I am going to call my first official day at the church. Mainly because it seems to be a convenient day to say that I started here. I came to the church and Pastor Tim and I outlined the preaching schedule for the summer. I will be preaching once out of Acts and then out of Romans for my time here this summer. I went home early from the church because yesterday was the day that my internet was installed at the house. I'm using an Ethernet cable, so I guess I haven't quite joined the 21st century. Pastor Tim will be looking into getting a wireless router that I can use, which would be nice. I won't be too sad if that doesn't happen though, because I have a pretty good setup. I might move my office though from the dining room table into the spare room where the modem is though, that would keep things neater. That last line should shock a few people, that I would be concerned with neatness. Last night, I went to supper at an open house that the local hospital was putting on with Pastor Tim and his kids. I met a couple church members there. This included one older gentleman who said that I should meet his granddaughter. I had to chuckle to myself when he said that. It's part of being a bachelor at a rural church I suppose and I'll probably receive a few more comments like that in the coming weeks.
Today is my first full day at the church. I have spent my time between reading Dr. Billings' book Union with Christ, and preparing for my sermon on Acts 5:33-42. I think that Dr. Billings' book may be of great help to me as I prepare for the sermon series in Romans that I will be preaching in July and August. The sermon on Acts has a few themes with great potential as well I believe. I have found that one great thing about living a short walk away from the church is that it is easy to go home for lunch. My neighbors though have a small pack of dachshunds. They seem to think that barking at me is a fun and constructive activity. In some ways though, it makes me miss Doc and Pepsi and Meesha. They haven't woken me up in the morning yet, so I don't think I mind them.
Right now, this summer is moving quite slowly. I haven't really met the congregation yet, that will take place on Sunday. Have to say that I'm actually pretty excited about that. Starting next week, things will pick up a bit more. I'll be preaching a week from Sunday so next week will involve getting a sermon ready. We also plan to put out a sign up sheet where people can feed the poor starving intern that can't cook very well. I could have as many as three dinners a week put on by people in the congregation. This will help me to meet people so I'm definitely looking forward to that. One thing about my time in Pella last summer that I felt I could have done a better job of was meeting people. I met a lot of people there, but I think I could have been more proactive at that than I was. So I hope that I can do that here in Baldwin.
I do miss my friends and family back home. I hope that each of you are doing well. Today is my Dad's 64th birthday, so I hope my mom isn't playing him the Beatles' song about that too much. Funny thing is, I still vaguely remember his 44th birthday. Mainly his apple pie and two candles shaped like fours. Odd how little things like that stick in your mind. I'll have to make sure I call him tonight and wish him a happy birthday. Again, I miss my friends and family, but I'm doing well here. God bless.
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