Mrs. Zulu

22 Oct

Lori, Mrs. Zulu, and I
Grace Lutheran Church is a part of the Lac Qui Parle (say it with me: lack-a-par-ul) conference in the larger southwestern Minnesota synod of the ELCA who partners with a region of the Lutheran church in South Africa. For the past two weeks, we have welcomed two representatives of that region to stay with us in our conference. I had the joy of getting to know and spending much time with Mrs. Zulu, a member of the Lutheran church in South Africa, a mom to three, and a police officer by trade.
Mrs. Zulu, and the gentleman, B.M. from South Africa, spent time in various congregations and towns within the Lac Qui Parle conference. Mrs. Zulu came to Dawson for a weekend and I was her ride. We had some generally awkward conversation in the half hour drive. She came to church to Grace last Sunday and spoke, sang, and answered questions from the children.
Last Sunday was crazy for me. I preached at the early service. Schmoozed at the pastor’s appreciation coffee hour. Assisted at the second service. Led an early afternoon service at the care center in town. THEN, Mrs. Zulu, Lori, and I made our way to St. Cloud to attend a theological conference for three days.
In the two hour car ride, we bonded. Lori and I learned a lot about Mrs. Zulu and her life in South Africa. We heard about how she met her husband and how her children begged her to bring home “USA clothes.” I’ll admit, I was tired and in the back seat of a moving vehicle. I nodded off a few times but if Mrs. Zulu sensed I wasn’t listening, she would say, “Linze! Linze!” until I responded, assuring her I was still listening and awake.
From that point on, Mrs. Zulu stayed close to Lori and I for the remainder of the conference. She liked us. 😉 It was great to hang out with her and get to know her in the short time we were together. As of early this afternoon, Mrs. Zulu and B.M. were on a plane, returning to South Africa after a successful trip, sharing their lives and how the partnership of our churches enriches all of us, on each side of the ocean.

I need more pins.

22 Oct

It’s pinning time. The final step of quilt completion. The binding. The next photo of the quilt that will be posted will be a photo of my very first quilt adorning the bed in my apartment. In between sermon writing and watching The Proposal (which netflix promised to deliver tomorrow), I will be doing the zigzag stitch to the best of my ability. Goal for completion: Sunday evening.

gnome home.

22 Oct
I live in gnomeland. I’m a neighbor to gnome park. I consider myself on a first name basis with many gnome people in the area. I am a friend to the gnomes and here in Dawson, I seem to be in the minority.
No one here seems to care for or about the gnomes. I mention the gnomes to others, often with a giggle because the gnomes are like that – they make me giggle, but I receive stares and questions in response. People who have grown up with the gnomes think they are just a fixture in their community, much like the toilet the Smith’s use in their front yard as a planter for flowers. It’s old hat. Nothing new. And so no one cares when Gladys goes missing. The flyers I put up in town regarding her whereabouts go unanswered. No one is concerned.
To prevent the ignoring and possible threat to gnome lives, I have taken some smaller gnomes under my roof, to protect and care for them. I consider my apartment to be a safe gnome home. Currently, two gnomes make their residence in apartment #206 with me. I’d like to introduce them to you.
This husky gnome on the left came to seek refuge all the way from Seattle, Washington. My friend, Kari, knew of my passion for the gnome people and brought this little guy my way. He looks a bit like he might play the role of Santa Gnome to the gnome children come Christmas time. I do fear that he came nameless and I am currently seeking the perfect name to fit him. I welcome suggestions.
Then there is this guy. He’s an original swinger who

traveled to me from Stillwater, MN. The Gieseke family, bless their hearts, is always on the lookout for the gnome folk and believed that this guy could be at home with me. Ideally, he enjoys swinging in the summer breeze but as the winter approaches, he will remain inside and still. Ironically, he needs a name too! Ideas?

sweet pea.

14 Oct
Harry is the usher extraordinaire at Grace. Nearly every Sunday and for almost all funerals, Harry can be found in the back of the church, greeting, handing out bulletins, and no doubt giving people a hard time.
One Tuesday afternoon, Harry was working at the Dawson area food shelf, which happens to be housed in the room across the hall from my office. I stopped in to chat with Harry as he sat at the desk, listening to the radio, available for any community members who would stop.
We talked for a few minutes and then he said to me,
“What’s your name again?”
“Lindsay.”
“Oh,” he replied. “I won’t remember that. I’ll call you sweet pea.”
And it has stuck ever since. How he can remember sweet pea and not Lindsay I do not know. When my family visited a few weeks ago, he was sure to introduce himself and enlighten them as to my new nickname. Yesterday, Pastor Lori called Harry to find a good time to come visit him and his wife at home. He told Lori, “Make sure you bring sweet pea.”
So today, as Pastor Lori and I walked into Harry’s home, we were greeted as he said, “Oh, good. You brought sweet pea.” As long as it’s coming from Harry, I think it has grown on me. I can be his sweet pea for the next year.
Another Harry conversation:
“Do you have a boyfriend?”
“Nope. No boyfriend.”
“Oh.” (pause) “So that’s why you’re so happy.”
Ha.

Proof.

13 Oct
In case you were in any way doubting that I am indeed the intern pastor at Grace Lutheran Church in Dawson, MN, I give you proof. Perhaps a bit of proof also that the bushes are healthy and growing unhindered. Thanks, men, for being on shrubbery patrol.

a tour of area statuary

12 Oct

Last Friday, I welcomed three friends from seminary to bunk and play with me for the weekend. James drove, Justin took pictures, and Kate slept on the three hour journey from St.Paul to Dawson. They arrived bearing hugs, apples, cookies, and sleeping necessities for the weekend away. We spent our time watching movies, playing games, catching up, and touring the area statuary, including :
The gnomes in Dawson. Of course. We discovered that the gnome chapel is open and we could walk inside and worship in the tiny pews at our own will! Pastor Lori said that the chapel has actually held wedding services before. For normal sized people and not pint sized people. Not quite sure how that works.
A dude from Uruguay who resides in Montevideo and a viking in Milan.
Then, of course, there is Lou T. Fisk in Madison.
We had a wonderful time exploring the vast western Minnesotan landscape in the freshly fallen snow on October 10. Snow. October 10. Oh. I think I also failed to mention – we found Gladys, the missing gnome. Case closed.

in approx. six weeks –

6 Oct
I will be home! I’ve just been given the clearance from my supervisor/lead pastor that I can indeed go home for Thanksgiving. Of course at that point in the year, I probably need to add ‘weather pending’ to that sentence but it is still a wonderful thought to entertain.
You know what this means, Connor Robert Reilly … fourth annual Thanksgiving Day Bake-Off. Bring it.

Visitors!

5 Oct
I had my first visitors to Dawson this past weekend and it was awesome to see Grandpa Sid, Aunt Janice, and Uncle Bill. They made a weekend of it and joined me after a short jaunt to Brookings. I gave them the royal tour of Dawson – it takes about five minutes – and then we went in search of a place to eat dinner. This is more difficult than it sounds because we ended up at Dairy Queen. It seemed every other venue was packed to the brim with an event or Saturday night diners and there aren’t that many venues to pick from to begin with!
They stayed at a guest house here in Dawson (wonderful accommodations!) and then came to 8:30 worship at Grace. They met many people before service who approached them, knowing they were new faces, and Lori, the interim pastor, introduced them before she preached her sermon! (I’m not sure Grandpa liked that or the applause that followed!) They sadly had to leave right after the service, but had a long drive ahead of them that day.
Word travels and even the people who weren’t at 8:30 worship kept asking me about my family that visited! Have they left yet? Did they like it? Where are they from? When is your mom coming to visit? It’s a small town … and they’re perhaps a bit nosey but with good intentions.

Touchdown Jesus

5 Oct

I drove one and a half hours to Brookings, SD one night after work to meet up with my dear friend, Kari, who lives in Seattle but happened to be in South Dakota for a family wedding. Since we are rarely in the same region of the United States, we met up for burgers at Nick’s and spent some time together in the big city of Brookings. Well, big compared to Dawson – they have stoplights. (Grandma – Nick’s is the hamburger place that you gave me that article about from Midwest Living. It was a pretty cool place!) While in Brookings, I decided to visit? stalk? egg? the congregation where I was originally assigned to do my internship. On the outside of the church, there is a large mosaic of Jesus and this Jesus appears to be signaling one thing – a touchdown.

Quilt update

5 Oct
Turns out quilting is difficult! My goodness, I am struggling with this whole machine quilting! I put the backing, batting, and top together a night last week and did it quite sloppily, I fear. I was so excited to start putting it together that I didn’t wait until I had proper space to do it. This quilt will be so far from perfect but will keep me warm and I will be proud of it because it pretty much is the first thing I have sewn. Really though, the stitching is not straight, the backing is not tight and isn’t always the precise size. SO far from perfect but I will still love it and cuddle with it and call it my own. Here it is, struggling to machine quilt —

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