New Beginnings

March was a busy month here in Bend, and it's going to stay busy for a while!  The Parkway congregation had at least 33 auxiliary pioneers, and I was told there were a few more who hadn't been announced.  We were able to get our territory covered with the Memorial Invitations with 3 days to spare, and some in the congregation were able to help other congregations finish their territory.  Having that many auxiliary pioneers certainly helped the spirit of the congregation.  All month long there was a high level of enthusiasm for the ministry and a strong sense of camaraderie.

And then last night on our Local Needs part we found out that the Branch has approved the forming of a new congregation to begin operation on May 1st, the Old Mill congregation.  Because the territory boundaries had to be changed in order to make room for the new congregation, many of the Friends now live in the territory of a different congregation, and we have been strongly encouraged to serve in whatever congregation whose territory we end up in.  It's going to be exciting to see how Jehovah blesses these new arrangements!

Memorial season and increased theocratic activity

February is almost over and the congregation is gearing up for increased field service activity during the Memorial season.  A couple weeks ago, our service overseer gave the Memorial Invitations part on the service meeting.  He really encouraged as many as possible to sign up to auxiliary pioneer during the month of March.  So far, the service committee has received twenty-something auxiliary pioneer applications.  This Thursday the names will be read off at the service meeting.  It'll take most of the Announcements part just to do that!

I can't auxiliary pioneer myself this month, but I am going to increase my share in the field ministry quite a bit.  Plus, Jim is coming down again, so it looks like March is going to be a great month!

It's been a while

I got busy and then wasn't in the mood to post for a while, but I'll be adding some new entries in the next few days or so chronicling our trip to the Oregon coast from December as well as what's currently going on.

Next few days are gonna be COLD

On Sunday we got hit with about 6 inches or so of snow, which wasn't in the forecasts that I heard on Friday.  It got pretty cold here, and right now according to the Weather Channel website (weather.com) it's currently 5 degrees with a "feels like" rating of -9 degrees.  The high/low forecasts for today and tomorrow are 16/1 and 20/3 respectively.  But at least it'll be sunny!

Winter is finally setting in

Well it's getting colder here in Bend.  This weekend and the first part of next week is going to see low temps in the single digits.  Brrrrrrrr!


Woke up with a pounding headache this morning and popped a couple Advil, then about an hour later, I popped a third.  The worst of the headache is gone but there's still a dull ache under the surface.  I wasn't feeling great yesterday after work, either, so maybe my body is trying to fight something off.


The week before last, Shannon and I took a trip up to Longview over the holiday weekend to visit with some of my old Friends in the Cowlitz congregation.  We left Thursday and stayed until Sunday.  It was nice to catch up with the Friends at the Thursday and Sunday meetings, and to see some of my old stomping grounds again. 

A Week of Increased Activity

This past week we had the visit of our circuit overseer.  He's new to our circuit, having just come from the Everett area of Washington state.  We are his second circuit.  Among other things, he wanted to encourage as many as possible to get out in the field ministry on Saturday, as well as to be ready for the possible formation of a new congregation in the Bend area (which would meet in our Kingdom Hall).  It turned out that we had 100 meet for the field ministry on Saturday, wow!  Unfortunately I was working that day.

This week it appears that winter started in earnest, with much cooler temperatures and snow overnight Saturday and into Sunday morning and afternoon.  Time to get those snowshoes out!

Musings Over Morning Coffee

I'm up early this morning (thanks to the cats wanting breakfast), so I thought I'd do some personal study and preparation for our special service day today and post an entry on the blog.  Today is our congregation's monthly special effort to start Bible studies with those interested in learning what the Bible really teaches.  Those going out in the morning meet at the Hall at noon to enjoy some hot soup and regroup for afternoon activity.

We're hoping to go up to Longview to visit friends in the Cowlitz congregation over the thanksgiving holiday, but everything hinges on whether or not I will get Black Friday off or not.  There is a strong possibility I will not.  If I am allowed that day off work (which is an open day on my route), then I likely won't find out til the last minute.  This will be the last getaway we have this year, and since it's been seven months since we got to do something like that, we're feeling "getaway withdrawals".  Our last weekend getaway was back in April when we got together in Seaside with some good friends and went to the seafood festival in Astoria.  That was fun!

Next March we're planning to take a romantic weekend getaway to a more calm part of the Oregon coast, around the Pacific City area.  One of our favorite bed and breakfasts, the Sandlake Country Inn, is located just outside of Pacific City in the small community of Cloverdale.  We've been to this B & B a few times now, and it has proven to be the perfect place to relax, recharge, and do a little exploring.  Their website is http://sandlakecountryinn.com/    We always stay in the Starlight Suite.  They also have a blog here at this site:  http://blog.sandlakecountryinn.com/