Thursday, August 28, 2014

THE END IS NEAR!!!!

No, not the end of the world, just the end of my sabbatical! :( We are completing our four weeks away in Nova Scotia and will take the 8 a.m. ferry from Digby to St. John, NB this Sunday morning.  From there we drive to the US border and after the Feds are satisfied that we are not a threat to anyone on the south side we will drive on to spend the night in Maine.  On Labour Day, Sept 1, we will look around the Maine coast and spend a night in Portland (yes, they have one of those in Maine too).  After that it is fast and furious driving through many states over many miles to get home by Saturday.  So, we will be home by dark on Sat so I can see some of you in church on Sunday, Sept 7. 


Nova Scotia has been incredible, as always, and I am full of stories to share.  In addition, I have been journaling on my computer and have written 41 pages so far to share in some form when we get home.  I have been reading a lot too and currently I am on my 6th book.  I will tell you about some of those too. 


Keep us in your prayers as we are doing for you too.


Grace and Peace,
Jerry and Doris and Bo

Thursday, August 21, 2014

Staying Cool in Parker's Cove

Hello once again from Parker's Cove, Nova Scotia, where every day begins in the 50s-60s and ends in the 70s.  Not trying to rub it in, but we are delightfully enjoying the cool weather.  The seafood is great too and we are having plenty of it.  I am writing daily in a journal and will print it out for you to read once I am back and settled in once again.

I am reading a lot, and am on my 5th book so far, this one a large new biography of Dietrich Bonhoeffer that I think will lead to my presenting something about him in the fall.

I appreciate your prayers.  We have a little over a week here and then will begin our week long drive back home.  We leave here on Aug 31 and will drive through Maine, taking a day to look over the Maine coast, and then down through Mass, CT, NY, PA, VA, TN, AL, LA and then back to Texas.  We will have cell phone service again on Aug 31 once we have crossed into the US.  We are not using it here as it is very expensive per minute.  We are using precharged calling cards instead.

We have not seen television in almost 3 weeks and do not miss the daily dose of bad news.  We have not seen the weather either so if you hear that a hurricane is heading our way, call and warn us.  We hear a French radio station with a great mix of music and an English station that gives mainly Canadian news.

We are going to Cape Breton Island tomorrow for a night there to hear some Scottish music.  They have these concerts where they play the fiddle, guitar, and other instruments and sing traditional Celtic music.  We want to attend one at the Red Shoe Pub in Mabou.  Look it up if you have internet and you can see the music we will hear on Friday night.

Grace and Peace
Jerry and Doris

Thursday, August 14, 2014

Everyday Life Away

Some of  you may know that I am on sabbatical and in Nova Scotia.  All is well in the Maritimes, as they call Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, and Newfoundland/Labrador.  The sun is not shining today as it usually is but even the rain and clouds do not stop folks from being out and about.  After a lazy morning around the cottage we are at the public library in Annapolis Royal using their internet service since we have none at the cottage.  We have no television there either but we have not really missed that at all.  It is funny but we do miss using our cell phones (ask ATT how much it costs to make calls from Canada back to the US; even higher, how much it costs to have a data plan work here) so we are very much news-free.  I have not heard about the Wars in Israel/Gaza, Syria, Iraq or anywhere else for about two weeks  now and I certainly do not miss that.  We do not even hear the weather forecast each day.  We just take whatever weather comes daily and live in it, a bit like our ancestors did I think.  So, going to the public library or sitting outside of a restaurant or visitors center that has Wifi is the thing we do to connect back to the modern world for just a bit.  We are sending email now and then and checking Facebook but mostly I use it just to check on places to stay for our return trip home and to pay bills that can be paid via the internet.

I am doing some writing and in fact think I will have a devotional booklet of some sort to share with you when I return.  It may be an Advent Devotional Booklet or just one in which you can read the thoughts I have had while on sabbatical.  Either way, when we get home and settled into the routine again, we can see what can be done to produce a booklet you can read if you wish.

We are exploring the province now and then but also allowing for down time on a regular basis to just sit and enjoy the scenery.  We are about 125 miles from the capital of Nova Scotia which is Halifax and that is the largest city in the province.  It is not large by US standards, only a few hundred thousand, but most cities are only 20,000 or less in population.  Many are very small towns, such as Annapolis Royal, with less than 1000 residents.  They do have a nice downtown, a police force, a mayor with a city hall office, and a public library so it is a bit like Weimar.

We are eating seafood regularly, daily in fact, and still love it as much as ever.  It is everywhere and scallops are so reasonable in price that they can be bought and cooked often.  There is a seafood processing plant in Parker's Cove where we are staying and you can buy your fish and scallops and lobster there or eat a bit of chowder or lobster there on their upper deck.

So, we are well and hope you are too.  Write to me via the church email address if you wish (ucpastor@cvctx.com) and I will respond when I get back to the library or other internet service.  Doris and Bo send their regards too.

Pastor Jerry