Time to move on again!

This Associated Mennonite Biblical Seminary campus on the right, the

view we had from our apartment,

has been our home for the past six

weeks. (Note the new AMBS lighted

sign in the foreground, put up while

we were here.) Yes, it was actually

sunny here yesterday (Saturday) when I took this picture, but

today it is raining, with snow predicted tonight and tomorrow.

During these weeks I spend a lot of my time in the new AMBS library pictured above (the building to the right on the campus picture). I remembered these weeks how much I do enjoy the academic, scholarly world, and how much at home I feel in such en environment. (No, I am not about to leave the ministry for an academic career at this point in my life, but it is a reminder of what my life might have been had I chosen differently in my youth). Anyway, I did enjoy these weeks of study and research related to rural ministry and the mission of the church in rural areas. Most of my study focused as it always has in my life on what the Bible has to say about this subject. So much of my "research" had to do with getting up to date on recent Biblical studies in the Old and New Testaments. (And yes, I have spent the money I had budgeted for books in this place, so I have enough reading to last me the rest of my life!)

Tomorrow morning, weather permitting or not, we leave to begin our journey home. We'll take several days, stopping at the Center for Theology and Land at Wartburg Theological Seminary in Dubuque, Iowa, doing a spiritual retreat at our CPMC camp in Iowa, Crooked Creek Christian Camp, and visiting several other places before arriving home. We will be home for about ten days getting ready for the overseas part of my Sabbatical, but as I've told our leadership back home, I expect to keep a low profile at home and we have lots of appointments and things to do while we are home. Our flight to Israel is on March 4.

This last week here was a good one. I spoke at a Colloquim (class) on Missions and Peace on Tuesday and visited another class. I did my sixth day of spiritual retreat, returning to The Hermitage where I began five weeks ago, and it was a good day. Last night we were able to attend the Winter Choral Concert at Goshen College and saw three Freeman student singing--Josh Hofer, Kate Friesen, and Karen Graber. We were also able to see my nephew and family, Mark, Elaine, Ryan, and Matt Suderman, whose son Ryan is a student at Goshen and singing in the choirs. (Mark is choral director at Bluffton University, Bluffton, Ohio, and it was a good opportunity to check in which them.)

So today after church we will be packing up and preparing to leave. We'll probably go back to Hively Avenue this morning.

Roy