Summary of Day 2.
We left the Eppler’s on Friday morning, we drove to Narrowsburg, New York. Narrowsburg is literally a walk away from PA. It was a gorgeous day for a kayaking trip on the Upper Delaware River (UpDe). Paige’s sister Marissa led the 6 mile trip. We had a blast swim racing each other from PA to New York! Megan caught a cool looking frog (that’s not the scientific name) –Erik, we took pictures for you: please identify Froggie (Christened by Megan). We were glad to see Paige after she got back from training as an UpDe Park Ranger. We hit the road after dinner and got into Canton, Ohio at 4am. We were delayed about 2 hours after being stuck in Memorial Day Weekend traffic. Most of us are now awake at the Dubose Residence now, being entertained as always by Morris & co.
Reflections.
It’s like the first 3 days back at college. It feels like 3 weeks. But that’s a good thing. And this is how we are feeling. I love how our unchanging God is also a God of surprises. When Shane didn’t show up after half an hour, I must admit I was getting nervous. But I refused to give up knocking on the door and yelling for Shane to wake up (I was convinced he was asleep)! I expected him to give us our 1 hr interview and send us on our way. Instead, it was such a treat for us to be able to shovel dirt with Shane and interact with the neighbors. I loved hearing the various voices say –Hi Shane. What’s up Shane? Want to play ball Shane?
Neighbor: Hey Shane, I need a favor.
Shane: I need one too.
Neighbor: I’m hungry.
Shane: I’m tired. I’ll make you a deal. You shovel for me, and I’ll make us lunch.
Living out life as an ordinary radical. It didn’t seem radical but it was extraordinary.
Shane also talked to us about the importance of establishing roots in places, especially seeing that our generation tends to do things for short periods of time. Much to think about.
Adam (Messiah 06) gave us a tour of the Red Cross Shelter in Philly –the only shelter by the Red Cross in the country. It was insightful to learn about the work they do, though frustrating as Adam explained the vicious cycle of poverty.
We did appreciate Adam’s thoughts on his year in transition, although sometimes things got awkward –haha –I say this because we learned that awkward is only awkward when you let it be. It was neat to be able to reflect on our Messiah experiences together, seeing how our thoughts today are shaped by our time at Messiah.
