Good Saturday to you on this windy day in Iowa. Again. We have been getting rain yesterday and this morning, and the winds have been high. There are more storms forecast for later on. Spring is here,...and we are giving thanks. I saw that Medicine Lake MT cancelled their church services for tomorrow,...a blizzard warning! And for parts of North Dakota again too. SO, rain? wind? Sounds fine to me!
Speaking of Medicine Lake, Montana, we lived their for three years from 1980-83 when we had to leave due to an eye condition Joel had. It was too dry for him. It was difficult to leave there. Medicine Lake was a very small town of 400 with a great school, several churches, and a community that gathered for games, at the local cafe, in their congregations, etc. The school principal was on the church council and when Joel went to the first meeting as the new pastor, the principal, who was the secretary, wrote in his notes, "Let it be noted that the new pastor had on inappropriate footwear, square-toed boots~! We had a good laugh over that. Joel was soon needing new boots so he bought them before the next meeting. At the next council meeting he took off one new pointed-toe boot, put it on the table and said, "Please note that the pastor now has appropriate footwear!" Everyone had a good laugh.
Medicine Lake was one of three churches Joel traveled to every Sunday. We lived in the parsonage across from the Medicine Lake Lutheran church. I helped Joel out some, but mostly took care of the family and worked part time in daycare and for awhile at the local hardware store. Money was scarce and bills were high, but people were generous too. We needed a new bed soon after arriving and had to cash in a savings bond to buy it. Bethany was very gifted in piano and we needed a piano so purchased one on a payment plan ~ at a lower price because they gave us a pastor discount. The bed was secondary to that. Our mattress was on the floor for quite awhile until a friend from church saw that.......let others know and the superintendent of the school bought us the frame for Christmas. The church gave us a dresser for Christmas that year too.
Joel would substitute teach when needed. He did not mind teaching science, etc. but the day he taught kindergarten he came home, plopped into a chair and declared.......'That was exhausting! Kindg. teachers are saints! That was his only experience with teaching 5 year olds. He stuck to older kids!
We met some wonderful people in that little town that so close to Canada and North Dakota! They were gifted, caring, faithful, and knew how to do community. Recently as I look back on our life, this place stands out as one of the gifts we had from God. Montana will always be close to our hearts.
This week has been quiet. To let you know how quiet it has been, we rearranged the living room yesterday for something to do! Ha! There was the usual baking, cooking, cleaning. No doctors to see for a change.....Joel is out in the shop making our youngest a bookcase. No biking due to high winds but a few walks outside and at the mall together.
We started watching a documentary series, "Our National Parks" narrated by former President Obama. It is amazing to see all the parks around the world. Netflix carries it. We would highly recommend it.
I'm going to close this quiet scribbles............hope you enjoyed reminiscing with me about Montana. Hope and pray you are all doing well and enjoying this weekend and your own memories....
Today I am grateful for rain to nourish the soil, winds that clean up the air, looking back on Medicine Lake memories, walking outside and getting fresh air, a quiet week, a new look at world parks, a new living room arrangement, music on Alexa, phone calls and texts from our kids, family, friends. Grateful for all this and so much more!
Enjoy your weekend~
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