CORN!

Hello Faithful Readers!

We are so pleased to announce that Tim has (finally) received his first call. We were rather surprised to hear on Tuesday night that Tim will be serving as pastor of not 1, not 2, but 3 churches in rural Western Iowa. He will serve Grace Lutheran, Correctionville, St. Paul Lutheran, Battle Creek, and Trinity Lutheran, Anthon. In the Iowa District West (IDW), this tri-parish is referred to as ABC triple parish.

Each church is small, with an average Sunday attendance of 50 or less. Two of the churches (A and C) are in the small towns and the other, St. Paul in Battle Creek, is several miles outside of town surrounded by fields. We assume it's corn since several people Tim spoke with yesterday from the churches were busy out planting their corn fields. Our parsonage is located next to the St. Paul church, so we will also be living out in the country. We are all excited about this, but probably Tim most of all. He already has a great connection with some of the men since he has grown up surrounded by a farming community and shares hunting with them as a common interest and hobby. I am very much looking forward to planting a garden and having a full clothesline! The girls will be thrilled to have the space to run and play too. Norah already knows we're going to get her a swing set once we get there. We've been saving the girls' Christmas and birthday money from relatives, etc. just for this reason!

It truly is amazing the amount of good old Lutheran connections we've found already! A classmate of Tim's (whose name is also Tim and who is also from Southern Minnesota!) received a call to another tri-parish just south of us. They're just about as close as the farthest of our churches, in Charter Oak and Ricketts, IA. He is married and he and his wife have a brand new baby boy. We just started getting to know them a few months ago and have commented many times that we wish we had sooner - and now we'll have lots of time! Additionally, a St. Louis Grad from last year was placed in Ida Grove, IA which is about 10 miles to the east of where we'll be. He and his wife both went to CUW with us!

Now, for a really strange coincidence... A CTS Grad from last year and his wife and daughter are in North Dakota. This year at the Sem., we have gotten to be pretty friendly on Facebook since we've found we have a lot in common, though I never really got to know here while she was still here and since our years at the Sem. kind of were opposite due to Vicarage and us both being busy teachers our first years. We said many times that it would be neat if she and I ended up close together. When she heard Tim's call to IDW, she let me know right away that her parents live about 20 miles north of our 3 churches. I was excited since she'd know something about the area, etc. Several messages and posts later, she mentioned that her dad was actually the PASTOR at a dual parish in Iowa, not that they just lived there. As it turns out, her dad had been at Call Service and introduced himself to us. We chatted with him and his wife for a while, not even realizing whose dad he was! I'm sure he had no idea we knew his daughter and son-in-law either. Small world! There are a couple other recent Seminary grads that will be in Tim's circuit and district as well. It's going to be a fun reunion for them all!

Here are some other bits of information that we've managed to gather, though it's hard to find out too much since the towns are very small (500-1,000 each) and we're in a rural area:

*Sioux City is the nearest large city, approximately 35 miles from Battle Creek and our house. This is where we'll find Sam's Club, Target, and other shopping, etc. I still haven't been able to determine if there are any grocery stores closer. I guess I'll get to practice my list-making!

*Though very small, Battle Creek has a historical Bed and Breakfast with extremely reasonable rates... up for a visit anyone? It's probably cheaper than a hotel in the larger city + gas.

*Our parsonage has 3 bedrooms, so we'll have it full right away!

*Tim will most likely start in August, so Baby Jellybean will be born here in Fort Wayne.

*Tim will also be responsible for some nursing home services each month.

*Each of the churches has a breakfast or dinner/potluck once a month, so we'll be eating just fine. ;)

*Correctionville got its name not because it is home to a correctional facility (we're glad!), but because it is at this point that the longitudinal lines become straight again - corrected!

*Ordination for Tim will be June 12th in Morristown. His dad will be doing the service! We're about 95% sure of the date now, just have to get the official paperwork filled out. Anyone is welcome to come!