Where to find God

From an Advent devotional I've been reading this season:

A Hasidic story tells of a rabbi's son who used to wander in the woods. The rabbi asked his son, "I wonder why each day you walk in the woods?" The boy replied, "I go there to find God." "That's very good, son. But, don't you know that God is the same everywhere?" "Yes," the boy answered, "but I'm not."

A good reminder of my need to seek God in the ways that I can best meet Him this season. God is the same everywhere. But I am not, and I need to remember that. Especially during the transition and unsettledness of a furlough.

Staff year-end brunch

I wanted to write a longer post of my thoughts and reflections at the end of the 2009 apprenticeship year, including a group photo, pictures of my heart project & a short description of the meaning behind it... but that will have to wait. The past few days have been full of packing and moving my belongings from my apartment to Pangani, where they will be stored until I return from furlough at the beginning of February. The 2009 apprenticeship has drawn to a close and I fly back to CA tomorrow. Stories will follow when I'm not in the midst of boxes and suitcases and the looking up of baggage requirements. In the meantime, here are a couple photos of our staff team, from our goodbye brunch this morning.

Prayer of blessing for Joe and Natalie. Joe will be taking on leadership of the team going forward.

Group shot...
Back row: Natalie, Daleen (and Keziah), Sarah, and me
Front row: Joe, Bryan, Doug