We are moved! The Heartland North District office has moved to its new location in the house on the north side of Platte Woods UMC. The house has been renovated, mostly, by Rev. John Howard, associate pastor at First Kearney UMC (that's him a few months ago taking a picture of some others who were painting, as I took a picture of him.) In his former life, he was facilities manager for Veterans Hospital in KC. He took on this project lock, stock and barrel (literally). Although there were several other volunteers I especially thank Terri Huffman) it was John who painted with them, got the mold in the house removed, arranged the carpet layers and mini blind installation, painted, installed locks, cleaned, worked out financial details with Platte Woods, got a marvelous sign made for just off the north parking lot of the church, took out a wall, emptied humidifiers countless times, worked with Coni, our bookkeeper for the paying of bills and did all sorts of other things to get the house ready. It is very beautiful. Please come see us! You feel as if you are in the woods, sort of, and you are sort of.
I feel fairly guilty about this office thing, since when we decided to take up Platte Woods on its offer of this house as our office, I had no idea that I would be going off the district. The district has put money into the house and John has put his heart and soul into the house. One of the joys of being where we are now is that we get to see the Platte Woods people so much. Steve Breon, senior pastor there, came by this afternoon and said something like. "this house is so you" (meaning Susan) and it certainly does feel like home. It feels like home too, because among other things, Barbara senses this feels like home, too.
I feel fairly guilty about this office thing, since when we decided to take up Platte Woods on its offer of this house as our office, I had no idea that I would be going off the district. The district has put money into the house and John has put his heart and soul into the house. One of the joys of being where we are now is that we get to see the Platte Woods people so much. Steve Breon, senior pastor there, came by this afternoon and said something like. "this house is so you" (meaning Susan) and it certainly does feel like home. It feels like home too, because among other things, Barbara senses this feels like home, too.
I have no doubt that God will lead the district to find many ways to use the house and its grounds (the "park-like setting" as I have described it). I do wish we had moved earlier because the stress level when all three districts were together was very high---not that we didn't get along but we were so cphysically lose together, and there is such tension at times in the superintendency that it is good to be in a peaceful place. Selfishly I wish this had happened sooner because then I would have gotten to enjoy it longer, and my own stress level might have been lessened.
This does NOT mean that the call on my life is lessened to return to the local church and to McMurry in particular. I do have another month plus of the ds work, though, and it looks like I will be dealing with "issues" until the very end, which is okay---that is what I am supposed to be doing, and I will be glad to live out every one of my days as ds. And I am glad that it will be in the funky house next to PW, with trees all around, and a contented Barbara, the keeper of my sanity, in the other room.
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