One Down, Three to Go . . . Three Down, Twelve to Go . . .

(One Semester Down, Three Semesters to Go... Three Classes Down, Twelve Classes to Go)

After reading more books than I can count, writing countless papers, and completing my first pilot study/research project I have officially concluded my first semester of doctoral studies. All in all, as far as workload is concerned, it wasn’t nearly as difficult as I expected it to be.

I really liked one of my classes and learned a lot of valuable information overall! I am also glad to be finished with the introductory course and look forward to taking more classes focused on topics I am interested in. And, as the winter break comes to a close, I am looking forward to my interterm course that starts January 3 and the following spring semester.

As Chris has already mentioned we have also had time to go on some short adventures. We traveled to Galt to visit my mom’s step-sister’s brother’s family (that’s the family connection he couldn’t explain earlier) for Thanksgiving. We also went to San Francisco and many of the beaches along the coastline.

Over the break I have been reading diligently for my coming January course and enjoying time with Chris and Mo. We spent a day at Knotts Berry Farm, watched all four Shrek movies, went shopping with our Christmas gift cards, played the Wii for hours, enjoyed receiving countless Christmas cards from friends and family, and enjoyed a Christmas Eve service at church (they even rented a snow blower so there would be snow).

For those that have been asking about our church involvement we visited the youth service a few weeks ago and offered to help out. I couldn’t help feeling out of place and as though we were not really needed. Furthermore, those of you that know me well know how organized and plan-oriented I am . . . It did not seem fully organized, which drove me crazy! Furthermore, the more I thought about the youth service the more I had a huge issue with it from a theological standpoint. I just cannot support the idea of separating the youth from the greater body of the church . . . I am currently wrestling with whether or not I can help out with something I feel is not right. I realize ministry to large groups is drastically different than ministry with small groups but I just don’t think separate worship services is a part of that difference. I’m still praying about it and we’ll see where God leads us.

As for ministries and small groups for our age group we have been talking with some of the church staff. We noticed in the bulletin last week that a new ministry called “Connect” is starting up after the first of the year. We are looking forward to trying it out and connecting with some people our age. Overall, however, connecting in general has been much more difficult than we anticipated. We really miss our friends back east, but are more and more grateful for them everyday! We hope you’ll treasure the friends you have and take every opportunity possible to spend quality time with them!

--Megan