Thanksgiving, November 19-28

Hello!

Once again, it has been way too long since I've written, and I suppose that the now-infrequent nature of my blogging reflects either a lack of self-discipline, less travel, fun experiences that are harder to organize into blog posts, or a variety of the above. Safe to say, I've been studying hard, working hard, and playing hard this quarter. I don't want to waste a single moment of my senior year, and one of the positive elements of my senioritis has been attending more on-campus social events and exploring some of the nearby towns with my friends on the weekends. I suppose I should be writing about these little adventures, as they may give other PUC students more ideas on fun things to do with their weekends. (Hint: Ice skating in Santa Rosa on Saturday night is only FIVE dollars, and it's a cool ice rink, no pun intended.)

I'll try and do a better job next quarter--and hold me to it!

For Thanksgiving this year, I cheerfully left school on Thursday night instead of Friday so that I could see a movie with my friends and do elementary chapel at Pleasant Hill on Friday morning. That was fun--I always have a hard time choosing what to talk about at elementary chapel because of the age span, but when I get there, it's such a fun group to speak for. I hung out in Mom's classroom for the day, helping her serve pumpkin pie to her students before the three of us (her, myself, and my dad) headed off by car to Southern California. I was so wiped that I slept on the floor of the van while Dad was in rehearsal with Christian Edition.

The next morning, there was a worship service at a beautiful old Filipino church. The building must have been a deserted Catholic church, because the congregation that is in it now has only been around for ten years or so, according to one of the members. It had some absolutely beautiful stained glass. There was a window of Mary with Jesus that reminded me of the Botticelli paintings I saw in Italy--she had the same glistening eyes as those paintings. The people were very friendly, and I recognized a few PUC students in the congregation. They fed the entire group potluck, which was rich in dishes I'd never seen before.

In the afternoon, CE had another engagement at the CHIP seminar at Loma Linda University. Because seating was scarce, I took the chance to wander around the building instead. I had never explored one of the University's buildings properly, other than the church. It was strange to me, to be in an Adventist building with that much attention to visual detail. The lighting on the school's crest in the stairwell alone was more visually impressive than almost anything man-made on my home PUC campus--although nothing beats the changing of the seasons at PUC. I had always wondered why Loma Linda was considered a world-class medical school, and wandering around the deserted halls on Sabbath afternoon, I started to appreciate it. Words I didn't recognize were printed on the doors, sprinkled with a few that I knew well enough to be impressed by them--oncology research, bioethics, etc. It was a most enlightening experience.

On Sunday morning, I went with my dad to the worship service with a nearby Nazarene church. I was amused by sheets of paper in the pews that said, "Scribble Paper: For Little Nazarenes." CE was in fine form that morning, and I truly got a blessing out of the music that day. I especially appreciated hearing "Armor of God," which I hadn't heard in a while, and kind of missed. After that, we picked up Mom from the hotel, went out for a sandwich at Surfer Joe's, and then headed out to the desert. We really lucked out on our room at Palm Canyon, where we have a time share, this time--the view was full of palm trees, the sunlit pool, and even a snow-capped mountain in the distance. The greater joy, though, was to see my Spencer family members after a very long time apart. My cousins continue to grow like weeds, and I can't believe how fast they're growing under my not-so-watchful gaze. Before I know it, they'll be full-grown men.

Monday was my grandmother's 80th birthday. To celebrate this wonderful woman, we all went out to IHOP for their delicious veggie crepes. Then, in the afternoon we went swimming--the slide at Palm Canyon is faster than I remember it from when I was seven. In the evening, we struck up the time-honored tradition of Hand and Foot, a game played with Rook cards that we indulge in every time we are together. We paused the competitive tournament for cake in honor of Grandma's birthday. It was a marble cake, with white chocolate shavings on the outside and a fresh blueberry filling. It was one of the most delicious things I've ever tasted, but being able to celebrate my Grandma's birthday with her was sweeter still.

Tuesday, we celebrated Thanksgiving together. While the feast was cooking, my grandpa took me aside and told me the most wonderful stories. It made me wish that I had brought my computer so I could type them out--but maybe they wouldn't be so special if they were written, and didn't just come from him trying to pass down his memories from his long life to his granddaughter. It was a feast for the mind and heart, followed by the Thanksgiving feast of the tastebuds. When we left that night, it felt far too soon to be leaving. I want to see my grandparents again, soon.

It was a long but relaxed drive back up to Bay Point on Wednesday. We managed to miss the worst of the traffic by taking the route that goes out by Joshua Tree. I always loved looking at the twisted shapes of these bizarre plants through the window of the car. We made good enough time that we were able to stop in Santa Nella for dinner at Anderson's Split Pea Soup, enjoying each other's company as a family. It was nice to get home by nine. It allowed us to do laundry and catch up on sleep before going to Thanksgiving at the Piner's the next day.

This is the first year that the Piners and the Knapp clan (that's the one I'm from) have had Thanksgiving together, but it worked out nicely. There were over twenty people there in all, between the two families. The food was amazing--there are some recipes from the Piners that rightly are kept secret, or some pastry shop would conquer the world with them. The greatest delight of that event for me, though, was playing with my cousin Sam. I grew really attached to him over the summer, and I hadn't realized how much I was starting to miss him.

My parents and I spent the next day or two enjoying my grandfather's company. On Black Friday, the four of us went out to the movies during the day, before the mall crowd swarmed in. We used to do this a lot when Grandpa lived with us, and it felt good to do it again. On Sabbath, my parents showed him, my grandmother, and myself some of their travel photos--I swear, they should be keeping a travel blog, not me.

I went to every effort to live in denial that I was returning to PUC, even as I packed for the last two weeks of the quarter. It took the edge off of things to enjoy some In-N-Out and take a look and my great-grandmother's Christmas decorations in her room before she accompanied us up the hill. On the hill, I put off doing my homework to help my friends decorate their room for Christmas. It was worth it. The world needs more holiday cheer.

As for this last weekend, I could ooze volumes about how much I enjoyed the Ralph Carmichael concert at Elmshaven, but this letter is already too long. It is truly a joy to listen to one of the big band greats conduct a really good band playing big band charts.

I apologize for my long radio silence, and I will try to be better about writing in the future. To all you teachers out there: good luck with the rest of the school term. To all you students out there: good luck with the rest of finals. To all you musicians and pastors out there: good luck with all the extra Christmas programming ahead. To everyone out there: good luck with the holiday season--may its cheer exceed the anxiety that often accompanies it.

Albion Retreat, October 1-3

It has been a while, has it not? It's not that I haven't been traveling; I did enjoy a weekend at Leoni deeply some time ago. Alas, time got away from me. Since I last wrote, I have returned to PUC, turned 21, started work on a book about Adventist belief, and reunited with a number of friends I have missed deeply. Not in that order, of course.

On my 21st birthday, I was lucky enough to get to preach at my home church in Pleasant Hill with many of my family members in attendance. In the party that evening, I was really lucky to receive one of the coolest birthday cakes I have ever had--it had Mickey Mouse figurines on it. The Leoni weekend was a great chance to reunite with my former Pathfinder unit and watch them become LITs. I am so proud of all of them!

To celebrate a whole gaggle of birthdays and the new academic school year at PUC, my friends and I went to the Build-a-Bear workshop and made Star Wars bears. They are so adorable! Mine has a Jedi robe--I named him Christian Kenobi. My favorite, though, was my friend Tawnya's floppy-eared bunny in a sinister Darth Vader costume.

As for Albion, I have actually written an article on it already. It's available at puc.edu in a highly edited form (I am not responsible for spelling rappelling wrong--thanks, PUC PR department). For your enjoyment, I will include it here in its original form:

Religion Department Retreats at Albion

The Religion Department at PUC kicked off its school year with its annual spiritual retreat at Albion on the weekend of October 1-3. This was a weekend of fun, fellowship, and communion with God in the picturesque location of PUC’s Biology station on the Mendocino coast.

“This trip is often the highlight of the year for our Theology majors,” Dr. Ranzolin, head of the PUC Religion department said.

The weekend’s bonding started on Friday afternoon with a two-and-a-half hour long drive from PUC. The road to Albion twists and turns in sinuous curves hugging spectacular cliffs. “I keep on thinking we’re going to drive off the edge of a cliff,” commented Jordan Davis, freshman Theology major.

Upon their arrival at Albion, the students and their guests were treated to a healthy meal at the Albion cafeteria. Abraham Navarro, a student, noted, “It (the food) kept getting better and better.”

To kick off the Sabbath, Religion and Theology students provided a vespers in the recently-renovated laboratory building. Theology sophomore Samantha Angeles delivered a moving message on the importance of wisdom.

One of her classmates, Jason Whitley, commented, “I loved her sermon. It was a great reminder of what is important for those of us going into ministry.”

The Sabbath morning church service was no disappointment, either. With the winding Albion river visible through the windows, one of the

Theology freshmen from Palau gave his testimony, and sophomore Cameron Haley preached.

“The testimonies and the sermons were fantastic,” Angelica Bermudez said of the service afterward.

After church, students engaged in the annual game of Bible Bowl, where students test their general knowledge of the Bible, competing in teams.

For the afternoon, a large group of students went to see a lighthouse.

“It was bright,” commented Levi Gore.

“You couldn’t even look at it, even in the daytime,” added Danny Castañaza.

“It’s beautiful,” chimed in Jordan Davis.

Later, they went to see a sinkhole. “It was deep,” commented Angelica Bermudez.

“We saw a crab. That was pretty exciting,” Travis O’Reilly laughed.

After another vespers program and a dinner of haystacks and root beer floats, students and faculty alike returned to the laboratory building for a night of fellowship and games.

“My favorite game was zip bong,” Samuel Smith enthused.

All in all, it was a memorable weekend at Albion.

“The music was awesome,” said Jordan Davis. The music for the weekend was provided by a group drawn entirely from the ranks of the Religion Department. It featured Matthew Frias on the ukele, Julov Pierre on the piano, a guitarist, professor Kim on the violin, and Travis O’Reilly on vocals.

More than one student commented, “I just know that something exciting is going to happen this year. I can feel it.”

------

And that's where I left things off. What I don't mention is the incredibly peaceful four-hour trip I took by canoe down the Albion River with two of my friends while everyone else was at the lighthouse and the sinkhole. It was a very refreshing Sabbath, which was absolutely necessary for the thrasher of a week I had afterward. Fortunately, things are winding down for the weekend now.

Sorry it's been so long since I've written. I'll try and be better about it in the future. Have a wonderful weekend, wherever you may be, in the company of loved ones.

Redwood Campmeeting, July 18-August 1

Feel free to be startled by the dates on this email: I was up in the Redwoods for a LONG time. I used to think, as a child attending Redwood Camp Meeting, that the ten days I was there as a camper every year constituted a long trip, but going to Spain and back put that into perspective. Still, two weeks is a long time to be without phone or email contact with the rest of the world. In a way, that was quite liberating.

After helping another pastor set up their site, I was free to get settled into the borrowed trailer I would sleep in for most of the campmeeting. The next morning, all the pastors and volunteers ate together before we got started on the day's work. On that first day, the youth pastors and I raked out the clearing for the Youth division, dug a trench for the sound equipment (with the help of Kramer, an awesome dog), put together the stage, and took chairs over to the Spanish division. Tuesday's tasks involved the infamous Port-a-Potty run. Few things amuse me quite like standing on the back of a truck with a group of pastors I've known over the years and deeply respect. . . and Port-a-Potties. It was great conversation time, though, and once again, Kramer came along and helped.

By Wednesday, campers started to arrive in greater numbers and our work in the Youth division was getting more specific. This was when we started digging holes in the ground for posts and stretching the canvas around them. A few Youth started to trickle in and send their greetings as our youth helper, Eli, finished painting our backdrop, which sported the word, "Impact," our theme. By Thursday, we were working primarily on sound, lights, and programming. Our first meeting went very well, and it was a joy to see many of the kids I've come to love from Pleasant Hill, Yountville, and Napa afterward as I mannhttps://mail.google.com/mail/?shva=1#drafts/12a39c50796e36d4ed the hot chocolate. We actually call that the Choco Pit--if I'm not mistaken, my brother may have been the one to give it that name. Weird.

This kicked off the first weekend. Our division was absolutely packed on Friday--we were using every chair we had. Afterwards, my former Pathfinder unit and I were talking, and through this I discovered that I was related to half my unit by some very distant marriage ties. Who knew we really were family? They always felt like family to me, anyway. I read them a bedtime story, like I used to when they were little Pathfinders--but now they are young women, old enough to be LITs themselves. For old time's sake, though, I read a story to them almost every night at Redwood. Some nights, this meant being up quite late, while still waking up early for the pastors' meetings. However, it was worth it to reestablish some of those connections.

As the week progressed, the youth started up a service project for the Fortuna Food Bank, in order to make a good impact (our theme) on the world. I was actually really impressed with the kids as they showed up in great numbers to pass out bags, gather canned food and nonperishable items, and even make dinner for the homeless. I remember doing these things when I was in high school, but I don't remember so many people my own age being so dedicated to service. I may have done several of the announcements for it in Pepperwood Pavilion, but it was truly a high school student victory.

On Wednesday night, I got to speak in the Youth division. I talked about being an every day Superman by way of Ruth. It was one of my weirder, more circuitous worship thoughts, but the kids seemed to like it--especially the idea that we're all really capable of being everyday superheroes. I had a hard time taking my own advice, though. All the chair wrangling, running of slides, and running of hot chocolate I was doing there didn't seem like much to me. I wasn't doing the exciting things; just boring little logistical details. I had to force myself to remember that my boring logistical details were important, just like Clark Kent's honest reporting.

The last weekend was a blur. There was so much going on at once, and right after the last meeting, we had to take everything down. What had taken three days to set up, we took down in a night and a day. The volunteers who helped us were very dedicated, and made it possible for us all to leave on Sunday at a reasonable time. When I got back to Napa, I slept like a baby; I hadn't had a day off in three weeks.

Right now, I'm enjoying the second of my days off and loving it. I would like to thank a smattering of people for making the last three weeks possible for me. I don't think I ever thanked the VBS praise band properly: job well done. You worked hard, and thank goodness, none of us will ever have to play the song "One True God" again. Chris Estay, thank you for the ride to Redwood. Sherilyn O'Ffill, thank you for lending your trailer, giving me a ride back, and continuing to be an awesome supervising pastor. Anderson and Snyder families, thank you for all the good food you fed me while I was over there--I loved both the food and the company. Youth division volunteers, you were awesome. You made it so we wouldn't have to be there all night several times.

Now that everyone's properly thanked, rest up! School is creeping up on many of us. I can't believe how fast the summer has flown. Enjoy your last few weeks (or days, if you're a teacher) of freedom before school starts up again.

Yosemite, June 25-28

Happy Fourth of July weekend! This will be the first time in three years that I've actually spent it in the USA. Last weekend, however, was a much more exciting venture. After a long, exhausting VBS rehearsal, I took off on a wild adventure that involved celebrating the fiftieth birthdays of my beloved aunt and uncle, Mark and Shirley Spencer.

I woke up at home the morning after the rehearsal and finally cleaned up my room from my swift transition between school and my internship. Then, my parents and I took off into the sunlit afternoon and stopped on our merry way to see Toy Story 3 and Karate Kid. Toy Story was so good, it actually made me cry! It certainly signals the end of an era. Even though Karate Kid had great locations shot in China, it was not nearly as good as the original from the 80's. We stopped in Merced for the night, only to get up at 6 the next morning.

We drove with all haste to meet my beloved aunt and uncle at the Ahwahnee for breakfast. There, I met a good deal of Shirley's family for the first time, including a number of rather charming cousins-in-law I would be happy to meet again. The breakfast was delicious, with hot oatmeal and fabulous fresh fruit. The Ahwahnee's crowning glory is not its food, though--it is the view of the valley through their high clear windows in the craftsmen-style dining room. We took pictures in the spacious lobby before going over to Manure Pile to do some rock climbing. It felt good to have my hands on the granite again, slowly and carefully scaling the slope. I always feel safe with Mark or Shirley on the other end of the rope. I had forgotten how much I missed that.

The traffic going out of the valley to check into our hotel in Oakhurst was epic. It was like Highway 5 on the day before Thanksgiving. Thanks to this, we missed seeing Shirley's art exhibit in the Fish Camp Library, so that gives me incentive to try to visit again this summer. Once at our hotel, we crashed, exhausted, until we went back to Fish Camp to visit with Mark and Shirley for a little while. Then, we went over to see my grandparents and my aunt Dolly at the Tenaya Lodge, where they were staying. According to family custom, we played Hand and Foot. As usual, my dad and Grandpa won.

The day of the party, my dad and I helped procure more soda for the festivities before going to Fish Camp. Shirley had come up with a splendid mixer game of human bingo. We had to find different people on the sheet of paper to win, such as a John Muir scholar, my grandmother, and an elusive member of Mensa, who never revealed their identity. Shirley's niece and nephew found almost everybody but him/her, and won fair and square. Their prize for their efforts were a photo from Mark's Half Dome series, one of which I hang up in my dorm room at PUC.

After a splendid meal of pesto pasta, Mark and Shirley presented their chocolate birthday cake, resplendent in crowns. We all sang to them and played with the balloons while waiting in line for the cake. Mark was nice enough to give me a ride in the Model T his neighbor from the Tin Lizzie Inn had lent him, and we had a great time dropping my grandparents off at Tenaya Lodge. When we got back, my parents and I played Set with a long-lost friend of ours, Kelvin, before joining in with the Chicken Dance and leaving. A thoroughly lovely evening.

The next morning, we swung by Mark and Shirley's one last time to say goodbye. After a brief exchange of china at the Ahwahnee (one or two of the pieces we had from them were faulty), it was a rush to get me to board meeting on time. I barely made it, but I made it! It was a truly epic weekend, followed by a busy week. Tomorrow, I get to tell the children's story at Napa and on Sunday, there's a Fourth of July parade I'm going to. Happy Birthday, Mark and Shirley and welcome home, Diane--I dedicate this children's story to you.

Clear Lake, June 13-19, 2010

Hello! Sorry I haven't written in ages, but I've been busy writing two exegesis papers, attending finals, and going to Clear Lake county with the Napa youth group to do Vacation Bible School in two churches--Clear Lake and Middletown. There was very little turnaround between school and leaving on this trip as a start of my internship at Napa for the summer. I finished finals on Wednesday (ending with Greek--which I'm sure I botched), spent all of Thursday cleaning, and had two days at home before leaving for Clear Lake on Sunday.

The Napa youth were immediately warm and friendly. I went into that trip only knowing Pastor Sherilyn O'Ffill, but it didn't take long for me to feel like I'd known the youth for months. We camped together at Hidden Valley Lake Campground, but spent very little time at camp because there were two VBS programs every single day. It was, in short, a lot of work but a lot of fun, too. The theme was Joseph: From Prison to Palace, and Susha and I were responsible for the opening and closing programs. However, we did take some time off on the afternoons to do a few fun things in order to decompress from the work at hand.

The first night, we all took communion together, to get ourselves focused--there would be no time to breathe the following day. On Tuesday, we actually had time to go swimming at the Hidden Valley Lake Community pool. About half the Middletown church lives there, so it should have been a cinch to get in--but we were wrong! Security there is so tight that you have to be on a guest list to have access to the gated community. Even Silverado's security isn't that tight! Eventually, one of the Middletown church members got us in and we all had fun swimming, but we all left laughing at how ridiculous it is to have that much security in the middle of nowhere.

On Wednesday, we visited a woman, Karen who has cancer. She is due to die in August, but I've seen cancer patients live well past their "expiration dates" with prayer and the love of a community--so by all means, pray for her. Sooner or later, everyone must die, but that doesn't mean that it has to be right away. She loved seeing us and asked us all what we were doing for VBS, making jokes about some of the kids. To decompress from this very heavy visit, I taught some of the kids how to play Egyptian war, and they enjoyed smacking each other's hands for the duration of the afternoon.

The following day, we were discouraged to start VBS with only two kids--but by the time we were through with the opening program, there were 10! It was such a relief. We celebrated by hunting for Clear Lake diamonds. These diamonds aren't worth much for jewelry, but they have the hardness of regular diamonds and gleam and glitter in the sun beautifully. I found quite a few of them, but not nearly as much as a little boy who was with us, who had been there before. These are only found in Clear Lake County, and the ones that are actually big enough to cut are worth something.

Friday afternoon, we celebrated our last day of VBS at Clear Lake by going on a boat on the lake, which was fun. Even though it's called Clear Lake, it's really green, but that didn't matter--it had water, and therefore the kids loved tubing and wake boarding on it. We all loved the extra hour or two of sleep we got that night before going to do the church program. That didn't go as well as I would have liked, but it was a joy to see my old friend Charlie there.

After potluck, we tried to leave camp in time to do a hike, but one of the cars blew a tire, so we had to skip it. Still, we got back safely, visiting the spring where Calistoga water is bottled. That is some of the sweetest, most wonderful water I have ever tasted.

I barely had time to settle in to my trailer in my aunt and uncle's backyard in Napa before we set out sailing around the San Francisco bay for Father's Day. It was nice to spend some quality time with the Piner family, and the views from the boat were absolutely spectacular. I admired Starr's ability to keep her balance while cooking in the hold, and my cousin-in-law, Andrew, as he managed to steer for so long without running us aground. I didn't realize how hard it was until Gary had me give the wheel a spin--it's harder than it looks! It was a great challenge, and I loved it. I will never watch Pirates of the Caribbean the same way again. After we came back ashore, we went out to Marin Joe's for dinner, which is always spectacular--if you're anywhere near Marin, it's worth a visit.

Ever since, I've been shadowing local pastors, mostly with an eye towards visitation. That's the area of pastoral ministry I have the least experience with, and I'm actually enjoying it. Meeting new people is fun for me.

Congratulations to everyone who graduated either from high school, college, or film school (Hillary) in the last month--I'm sorry I didn't get to it sooner! Also, happy belated Father's Day to all the fathers out there. You have a very important job! Thanks for everything you do. I hope everyone is having a great summer.

CE in Oregon, March 24-27

Right now I am snacking on an apple and authentic Tillamook cheese, both swiped from the continental breakfast of a hotel in Lake Oswego, Oregon. Lake Oswego is not too far from Tillamook, so the cheese has not suffered the transfer of many miles to get to me--accept in my backpack, on the flights that brought me home.

Our first night in Oregan, we took a bit of a pit stop from our Amazing Race-like tour to go to PF Chang's and see Alice in Wonderland in IMAX 3D. It was small for an IMAX screen, but the film was absolutely amazing visually. It wove practical effects with CGI and motion capture in a way that should make the creators of Avatar jealous. It was also true to the Lewis Caroll original, bringing back fond memories of reading it in sixth grade.

The following day was rather rainy as a tiny group of us ventured into Portland to see what there was to see. We wound up winding our way through a labyrinth of gardens above the city trying to find the magnolia trees that are in bloom. On our way, we saw neat rows of rose bushes (not in bloom), many daffodils, a statue of Sacajawea, and copious sheets of rain. Eventually, we found the magnolia trees and they were almost worth the search. Dinner at the Spaghetti Factory that night was more worth the trip, though. I had not been to the Spaghetti Factory in over a year, and I had forgotten how delicious the bread, a cherry Italian soda, a pesto salad, and spumoni ice cream can really be--never mind the actual entree, a glorious vegetarian lasagna stuffed with a delightful array of vegetables.

That night's CE concert was in Vancouver, Washington. It seems odd to me that Portland, the state's capital, should be so close to the border that the trip to Vancouver only took fifteen minutes or so. The church there was impressively built, with large arching glass windows and lovely works of religious art lining the lobby. They were in the process of getting ready for a prophecy seminar, and it felt good to be a part of that preparation.

The next morning, we set out in search of a famed Red Mill, and found it--but not the tour of its facilities. The Red Mill manufactures more varieties of grain than I had ever dreamed existed. It is also a restaurant that serves excellent vegetarian, even vegan food. I enjoyed a garlic roll deeply, as well as some peanut butter cookies. Then, we met up with the rest of CE at the site of director Calvin Knipschild's new home. He really has chosen for himself a wonderful view in a prime location. I'm a sun person, but it would almost be worth the rain to enjoy the spectacular view his home will have.

Afterwards, we took a scenic drive down the Columbia Gorge, which sported stunning vistas of stark mountains, dark blue lakes, and delicate waterfalls. It must be the Oregon equivalent of Yosemite. We stopped at the Bonneville Dam, which supplies a good deal of power to the Northwest, and watched the salmon swim in the fish ladder next to it. We crossed the Bridge of the Gods (a delightfully ostentatious name) to look at the other side, where we were actually allowed to drive over one of the powerhouses that contain the massive generators the water powers. We also stopped at a fish hatchery, which had this massive sturgeon called Herman swimming in its murky waters. It truly looked like a prehistoric fish of some kind, about six feet long with bony plates of armor all over it.

Thanks to a misunderstanding about the time of the concert and horrific traffic in Portland, it was a miracle we made it on time that night. By some divine aid, we actually managed to get the CD tables out on time. That night, I met a man who had worked at Camp Wawona back when my parents were staff there. It was fascinating to pick his brain and listen to his stories.

When Sabbath morning came, it was hard for me to accept that I was just one day away from returning to PUC. When I went up to join my father at the piano for the children's segment (which I do every time), something happened that had never happened before. A cute little girl saw that I didn't have a CE magnet (if I took one at every concert, I could paper my walls with them), and offered it to me. I kindly refused, but was touched by her sweet gesture. That church left us with an amazing potluck, served in a Sabbath school room that actually had highly detailed paintings on its walls with an amazing sense of depth. I hated to leave, but my mother and I had a plane to catch.

We made such good time, however, that we were able to stop at the Grotto of our Sorrowful Mother, a contemplative walk/park/public outdoor art gallery/monastery near the airport. It had two lovely replicas of the Pieta at the Vatican City. My favorite part of it, though, was a chapel at the top of the cliff that looked over Portland and the surrounding towns. The view was breathtaking, a good last look at my spring break travel.

Now, I am writing from PUC and I do not know when I'll have time to write again. Hopefully, it will be soon. Tomorrow the quarter starts, and I will be taking 19 credits, of which 10 are language--6 of them dead language. Please pray for me as I study Greek for the first time in two years. I also wish everyone luck on this last stretch of the school year, at whatever level it may be. Summer is coming!

CE in Washington State, March 20-24

Hello! I know it's been a long time since many of you have heard from me. That is because I took 20.5 credits last quarter, including a labor-intensive class called Spanish Literature. I learned a lot about literature, but a lot more about time management this quarter and breathed a sigh of relief when I scraped through test week with good scores and was able to come home. I didn't stay there long, though, because two days later my parents and I were on a plane to Portland, OR with some of my favorite people on board--my many uncles, the men of Christian Edition.

After a two-hour drive through the state of Washington, we arrived at our hotel in Chehalis. This was wonderfully convenient, as Chehalis SDA Church was the next morning's concert appointment. I have always admired that church's love of beauty and excellent acoustics. They gave us the same warm hospitality I received when I came with the PHAA choir three years ago with their wonderful potluck and friendly company. I especially enjoyed the green bean casserole, which I haven't had in over a year.

Across the street from Chehalis SDA Church is an old cemetary which we enjoyed looking at. A lot of modern cemetaries don't have proper tombstones any more, and it's fun to look at the different styles and some of the fun verses on them. We also visited a little pioneer village nearby with a plaque from the Oregan Trail in front of the tiny church.As we journeyed towards Olympia, the state capital, we took a detour to try to find the Chehalis Tribal Center, but only wound up looking at obscure parts of Washington on the way. Still, we had a grand old time looking at the stately capital building once we got to Olympia, as well as the outside of the governor's mansion with its armed guard. We also saw the Tumwater river waterfalls and the house were famous singer Bing Crosby's grandparents first settled. That was neat--and after seeing all of that, we still managed to arrive at our concert appointment early.

On Sunday, there were two concert appointments. The first one was at a wonderfully friendly church that smelled faintly of coffee and popcorn. I was astounded at the incredible warmth with which the members greeted each other. Their greeters were absolutely amazing. It was such an agreeable place, I almost didn't want to leave. We had a great time that afternoon, though, at the Hard Rock Cafe in Seattle. I was pleased to discover a vegetarian item on the menu the waiter was unaware of before--spring rolls! In this particular Hard Rock Cafe collection, there was a contract signed by Ray Charles, which was interesting. From there, we walked down to Pike's Place Market, which our friend Melissa hadn't seen before. We also visited the very first Starbucks. It is a small, unassuming place, but smells wonderful and has a line a mile long--though the line for the piroghy place next door is longer.

The evening concert was in Kirkland, the birthplace of Costco. Afterwards, we hurried to get to St. Mark's for the Compline concert (a group that does plain chant for free every Sunday evening), but the road was barricaded by police. We never found out why, but we did make it there in the end and it was GORGEOUS. After the monks sang, the glorious strains of "Toccatta and Fugue" rang out and it was worth the trouble just to see our friend Richard, a long-time organist, grin from ear to ear.

After all that excitement, we had a nice, slow start on Monday morning and we took our time travelling from Tacoma to Sequim (pronounced SQWIHM). Our first stop was in Bremerton, a famous naval base where the USS Nimitz is currently docked. We only had a passing glance at this great retired aircraft carrier, but we did have the joy of seeing the Harborside Fountain Garden in town. Designed by WET, the same company who made the Bellagio fountains, It sported five incrediby beautiful fountains that looked at the same time like whales breaching, subs sinking, and volcanoes exploding. The sidewalks weave around them like an intricate sailor's knot. Closer to the water, there is also a fun sculpture garden reminiscent of machine parts that fit together well. The museum attached to it is actually quite good. The exhibit on the second floor is devoted to life on an aircraft carrier. It talks about the daily life of a Navy sailor, from the small bunks they inhabit to the phones and the rainbow-colored uniforms on the flight deck. I even got to sit in a real pilot's chair, which was fun. In Silverton, we stopped at the Undersea Museum, which was all about submarines and also very, very cool.

By now we were quite hungry, and we happened upon the town of Poulsbo, where my parents hoped to find a restaurant they had enjoyed before. It was, sadly, closed--but in its place we discovered Tap Rocks, which was AMAZING. It featured Pike's Place cheese triangles, local Oregan hazelnuts, and amazing whit echeese potatoes. As we drove away from there and closer to Sequim, I was amazed by the astounding natural beauty in the area.

The next day, we enjoyed meeting up with lifelong friend and former principal, Denise White and her husband Floyd. She gave us a tour of the Washington Conference Office's new building. It really was beautiful without being ostentatious. I loved the play of light from the windows on the light wood, making a modestly sized space open up and look much bigger. The windows reminded me of Villa Aurora--all golden rectangles. My favorite feature, though, was a beautiful painting of Jesus with Mary and Martha in the lobby. Mary and Martha's robes had a detail to them that I haven't seen since my adventures in Europe.

Later, we went to lunch at an amazing Greek restaurant, whose name I wish I could remember. After such an incredible meal, I didn't need almost anything for the rest of the day. It was matched only by the company in its delightfulness. Then, we boarded a Duck, an amphibious craft that gives tours of Seattle. We left from the side of the Experience Music Project and went all around the city, then into the water. From the water, we could see the floating house from the film Sleepless in Seattle and even St. Mark's from the outside. The tour guide was incredibly charismatic and it was incredibly fun.

At the concert that night, Dad did the prayer ministry call and talked about Justin. It was the sixth anniversary of Justin's death, and a bit of a hard concert for the guys to sing. For me, the people I've missed on this trip are Joyce and Sonny. I've had time to grieve Justin as my own family member, but not a lot to process the loss of these two creative members of the Christian Edition family. Joyce, former editor of the CE Notes, published my first article and gave me the idea for these letters. Sonny's graphic designs for the group are still in use today. Both of them are well-loved and well-missed, just as much as Justin.

Yesterday was our last day in the state of Washington, and we visited the Tacoma Museum of Glass. Its main feature was a large glass-crafting workshop. I loved it! I watched how the glass glowed straight out of the furnace, how it was turned, stretched, cut, shaped, and formed by the tools in the hands of the artists. I could have watched the play of fire and glass for days. I also enjoyed the galleries themselves. I think my favorite artist was Preston Singleton, who incorporated Tlingit designes into his work in amazing ways. He used shadow to great effect, as well aas a technique that made some of his work look like pottery. The most fun exhibit, though, was designed from the drawings children submitted to a contest. They were colorful, fantastical, and utterly hilarious.

We tried to visit Mt. St. Helen's on our way to Portland, but the visitor's center closed as we arrived. There was still an excellent view of this great volcano from the porch, and we took pictures in front of it. Someday I'd like to see the side of it that blew, but for now, this view was absolutely amazing as it was. Later in the day, when we took a look at the Northwest Union offices, all of the meeting rooms were named after local mountains, and that was one of them. This building was also incredibly beautiful, and we were lucky enough to get a tour of the offices and see their fledgling Heritage Library. I almost envy them being in the starting phases of this project, but a part of the fun I have at PUC's Heritage collection is the rediscovery of what's already there.

All in all, it's been an amazing trip already. I'm sorry it's been so long since I've written one of these--I will try to do better this quarter. I wish you all well and hope that you're having a great spring break wherever you are.