Friday, September 2, 2011
Sorry the photos aren't working on the other postsI
Thursday, September 1, 2011
Smith Summer in San Luis Obispo (Recap #4)
Wow! We are about to enter our final week of internship on California's Central Coast. The time has flown by and we will be said to have to say good bye to some of our new friends. The people have been wonderful and the experience has been educational as we continue to prepare for ministry.
Some highlights from the past two weeks:
* We traveled to Atlanta, GA for Reformed University Fellowship's Assessment. It was like a three day job interview with RUF Area Coordinators and other former RUF campus ministers. Dan preached a modified version of the sermon he did three Sundays ago at Trinity. We both participated in two case studies- or scenarios to see how well we interact with others and with problem solving. We also spent a good amount of time with our two assessors, David and Ruth Green. At the end, they told us that we passed without any reservations. They will try to place us on a campus for Fall 2012, but cannot guarantee a job for us right now. They have to see what opens up. We're grateful for our time there and grew in our appreciation of each other as ministry partners through the process.
*After RUF Dan flew back to CA and Brittany flew to St. Louis for a busy weekend with her mom (who flew from Dallas to meet her). They rearranged the apartment for life with baby Jonah, shopped for strollers and car seats and other baby things, and went to a doctor's check-up. Dan was glad to have her back this past Tuesday. Brittany was glad to get a little nesting done and time with her mom.
*Last Friday, the folks at Trinity gathered at Grover Beach for a church-wide bonfire/potluck. Dan enjoyed having more conversations with Trinity folks. He's going to miss these evenings on the beach!
*The women of Trinity Pres threw Brittany a baby shower this past Thursday. We both have felt so loved by these people, and Brittany enjoyed celebrating the coming arrival of Jonah with these wonderful women.
* Conversations over coffee, breakfast, and lunch- Dan and Brittany have both met with different folks from the church over the last week and a half and discussion life, faith, marriage, babies, vocation, and the church. We love relational ministry.
*Other things: Kayaking on Morrow Bay, beer brewing and bottling, Theology Pub, hospital and home visits, session meetings, worship planning....
Please Pray:
- in praise for a good trip and time in Atlanta at RUF Assessment- as well as thanksgiving safe travel.
- for Dan as he prepares and preaches God's word our last Sunday here.
- for us as we begin the long drive back on Aug 1. Please also pray that we have a refreshing 3rd year Wedding Anniversary at a nice hotel (at a great price) Brittany found in Scottsdale, AZ.
- that we would end our time well here with good processing and debriefing so we can reflect upon what we learned.
And now for the visual learners:
Some highlights from the past two weeks:
* We traveled to Atlanta, GA for Reformed University Fellowship's Assessment. It was like a three day job interview with RUF Area Coordinators and other former RUF campus ministers. Dan preached a modified version of the sermon he did three Sundays ago at Trinity. We both participated in two case studies- or scenarios to see how well we interact with others and with problem solving. We also spent a good amount of time with our two assessors, David and Ruth Green. At the end, they told us that we passed without any reservations. They will try to place us on a campus for Fall 2012, but cannot guarantee a job for us right now. They have to see what opens up. We're grateful for our time there and grew in our appreciation of each other as ministry partners through the process.
*After RUF Dan flew back to CA and Brittany flew to St. Louis for a busy weekend with her mom (who flew from Dallas to meet her). They rearranged the apartment for life with baby Jonah, shopped for strollers and car seats and other baby things, and went to a doctor's check-up. Dan was glad to have her back this past Tuesday. Brittany was glad to get a little nesting done and time with her mom.
*Last Friday, the folks at Trinity gathered at Grover Beach for a church-wide bonfire/potluck. Dan enjoyed having more conversations with Trinity folks. He's going to miss these evenings on the beach!
*The women of Trinity Pres threw Brittany a baby shower this past Thursday. We both have felt so loved by these people, and Brittany enjoyed celebrating the coming arrival of Jonah with these wonderful women.
* Conversations over coffee, breakfast, and lunch- Dan and Brittany have both met with different folks from the church over the last week and a half and discussion life, faith, marriage, babies, vocation, and the church. We love relational ministry.
*Other things: Kayaking on Morrow Bay, beer brewing and bottling, Theology Pub, hospital and home visits, session meetings, worship planning....
Please Pray:
- in praise for a good trip and time in Atlanta at RUF Assessment- as well as thanksgiving safe travel.
- for Dan as he prepares and preaches God's word our last Sunday here.
- for us as we begin the long drive back on Aug 1. Please also pray that we have a refreshing 3rd year Wedding Anniversary at a nice hotel (at a great price) Brittany found in Scottsdale, AZ.
- that we would end our time well here with good processing and debriefing so we can reflect upon what we learned.
And now for the visual learners:
Dan always has to stir the pot
Smelling the beer ingredients... mmm
Men's kayaking event
Dan and Andrew Medlock kayaked together
Trinity Presbyterian congregation making their way in for Sunday worship
Chilling on the beach after kayaking
Dan talking to some folks before church
No trip to the california coast is complete without some winery visits!
Originally composed July 25, 2011
Smith Summer in San Luis Obispo (Recap #3)
Hi Friends and Family,
We are halfway through our SLO Summer and it is going fast! Some highlights from the past few weeks:
*We stayed one week in Morro Bay with our new friends Chip & Beth Appel while the Medlocks hosted friends from out of town. The Appel's house is within sight of the beach, and it was much cooler there. Chip is a deacon at Trinity Church and he took Dan out surfing our last day with them. Chip is a soil sciences professor at Cal-Poly and loves to teach, so Dan had a great time learning surfing - which is hard!!
*We took a guided tour of Cal-Poly this past week. It's a beautiful campus and it was hopefully good to hear a refresher about college life and what students are thinking about as they come to college. (Lots of questions about sharing bathrooms and what the dorm food is like!) I'm sure people were wondering why we were on the tour since we don't look 18ish and the only kid we have is obviously in utero.
*Dan has been working on his next sermon as well as putting together a plan for Trinity to launch a small group ministry in the fall. He's been reading over resources and talking with Jon and other Trinity members to try and put something together that is both educationally and theologically robust but also in line with Trinity's context and church personality. He's reading Simple Church by Thom Rainer. Dan also helped plan a men's event which is happening right now (Saturday morning). They are kayaking and having lunch on a sand bar and had lots of men sign up to go, which is great.
*Brittany has helped Laurabeth lead a book discussion over the past two weeks over the book Give Them Grace: Dazzling Your Kids with the Love of Jesus. So far they all really like the book. Brittany even wrote a case study for the first week to help the discussion get going.
*Other things: baseball games, yummy mexican food, more jamba juice, beer tastings, fireworks, and lots of fellowship.
Prayer Requests:
THIS WEEK! We travel to Atlanta for RUF Assessment. We are really excited about this and looking forward to how God will use this to help give us direction in our future call to ministry. Please pray that we wouldn't be anxious, and that we would be honest and candid with the assessors, and not try to be anybody but ourselves. Pray for patience and energy, for us as well as the assessors, as we've heard it can be an intense three days of hard questions and thoughtful reflection.
Also continue to pray for Dan's sermon preparation and delivery tomorrow. He preaches at least two more times after this as well.
Pray for Brittany and Jonah's continued health - Brittany had a stomach bug last week but is pretty much back to 100% now. Brittany is also traveling to St. Louis for a Dr. appointment before returning to SLO next week. Pray that all the tests turn out normal :)
We think we probably still have some money to raise, but we'll find out for sure next week at Assessment how much we still need.
Thank you all for your prayers!
Love,
We are halfway through our SLO Summer and it is going fast! Some highlights from the past few weeks:
*We stayed one week in Morro Bay with our new friends Chip & Beth Appel while the Medlocks hosted friends from out of town. The Appel's house is within sight of the beach, and it was much cooler there. Chip is a deacon at Trinity Church and he took Dan out surfing our last day with them. Chip is a soil sciences professor at Cal-Poly and loves to teach, so Dan had a great time learning surfing - which is hard!!
*We took a guided tour of Cal-Poly this past week. It's a beautiful campus and it was hopefully good to hear a refresher about college life and what students are thinking about as they come to college. (Lots of questions about sharing bathrooms and what the dorm food is like!) I'm sure people were wondering why we were on the tour since we don't look 18ish and the only kid we have is obviously in utero.
*Dan has been working on his next sermon as well as putting together a plan for Trinity to launch a small group ministry in the fall. He's been reading over resources and talking with Jon and other Trinity members to try and put something together that is both educationally and theologically robust but also in line with Trinity's context and church personality. He's reading Simple Church by Thom Rainer. Dan also helped plan a men's event which is happening right now (Saturday morning). They are kayaking and having lunch on a sand bar and had lots of men sign up to go, which is great.
*Brittany has helped Laurabeth lead a book discussion over the past two weeks over the book Give Them Grace: Dazzling Your Kids with the Love of Jesus. So far they all really like the book. Brittany even wrote a case study for the first week to help the discussion get going.
*Other things: baseball games, yummy mexican food, more jamba juice, beer tastings, fireworks, and lots of fellowship.
Prayer Requests:
THIS WEEK! We travel to Atlanta for RUF Assessment. We are really excited about this and looking forward to how God will use this to help give us direction in our future call to ministry. Please pray that we wouldn't be anxious, and that we would be honest and candid with the assessors, and not try to be anybody but ourselves. Pray for patience and energy, for us as well as the assessors, as we've heard it can be an intense three days of hard questions and thoughtful reflection.
Also continue to pray for Dan's sermon preparation and delivery tomorrow. He preaches at least two more times after this as well.
Pray for Brittany and Jonah's continued health - Brittany had a stomach bug last week but is pretty much back to 100% now. Brittany is also traveling to St. Louis for a Dr. appointment before returning to SLO next week. Pray that all the tests turn out normal :)
We think we probably still have some money to raise, but we'll find out for sure next week at Assessment how much we still need.
Thank you all for your prayers!
Love,
Dan & Brittany
4th of July party with church members
One of Dan's favorite activities here - weekly Theology Pub with college students!
Black Horse Coffee - Dan meets here to plan worship with Bret every Tuesday morning.
Cold water
Chip's crash course in surfing
He stood up once, but mostly made it to his knees. Much better by the end!
Professor of soil sciences analyzes the sand quality :)
Surfer dudes
Beth & Brittany in Morro Bay.
Taco Temple - so good!
Morro rock in background.
Sweet family in Morro bay who hosted us for one week.
Feeding the seagulls!
Cal Poly tour - beautiful campus
Agricola! Board games with the Rooks family
Dan & Jon at Tap It Brewery. Right now they only make IPA and APA, but both are pretty good.
At the local baseball game. Lots of big 12 players come out here to play for the summer.
Originally composed July 9, 2011
Smith Summer in San Luis Obispo (Recap #2)
Hi friends and family!
It's been another fast two weeks of our California Adventure. Here are some highlights:
*Dan preached for the first time at Trinity Church. Check out their website (http://www.trinityslo.org/). Dan's sermon is available for download. He preached on Pentecost Sunday on Acts 2.
*We enjoyed lots of fun and fellowship with Trinity members so far including a Bunco night, a beach bonfire, a beach lunch get-together, the weekly Farmer's Market on Thursday night, a games night of Bohnanza! and much more.
*Lucy went to the beach for the first time, but I don't think she liked it. She had sand everywhere in her eyes and face and wouldn't romp in the water with the other dogs. She is happy to lay in the sun on a nice pillow at home instead.
*Baby Smith now has a name: Jonah Mills Smith. Mom and baby are doing well. Jonah kicks a lot throughout the day. Brittany is having some back and hip pain but overall is doing fine.
*One thing Dan has especially enjoyed is the weekly "Theology Pub" on Monday nights. One of the ruling elders has led group discussion with college students every Monday to discuss the week's sermon or whatever else comes up relating theology and life. Dan has been able to attend three times and even lead once. We both really enjoy getting to know and minister to college students again, even for just this short time. (Students are mostly from Cal-Poly, which is located in SLO)
*We traveled this past weekend to Dallas for a quick trip to attend a family wedding and were also able to see all our Dads to celebrate father's day.
*We have almost raised all our support! Thank you for your prayers to this effect. We now only lack $1000 towards the fee of RUF Assessment in July.
Prayer requests: Prayer for our continued work with the church. Dan will preach 4 more times, as well as working on helping develop small group and children's ministries at the church (Brittany will help too). Also please pray for pain relief for Brittany (she's trying some new daily stretching techniques to help with this also). Prayer for our upcoming trip to Atlanta for RUF assessment and for the rest of the funding we need.
We miss you all and hope you are well - please keep us updated on your lives as well!
Below are some pics from the past 2 weeks as well.
Love,
Dan & Brittany
Look at those beets!
No unpasteurized dairy for baby Jonah please
From L to R: Andrew Medlock, Laurabeth Medlock, Anna (adopted college student), Chloe Medlock, Jack Medlock
We got the veggie crepe and soup combo
Farmer's is all about the chow
Chloe helping out the street performer
Man vs. kabob
This is the main city street downtown - look at the awesome trees!
Farmer's market stall
Minimum once a week Brittany gets jamba juice. SLO has the original location!
At Matt & Shannon's wedding in hot Texas - glad to be back in CA in the cool!
Stopped at the Santa Monica Pier on the drive back to SLO from LAX
Looking more pregnant now
The amusement part wasn't open at 9am, but it was good to stretch our
legs after our early 3-hour flight!
Originally composed June 23, 2011
Smith Summer in San Luis Obispo (Recap #1)
On the road to sunny, CA
Lucy says, are we there yet?
Brittany kickin back as we roll into Denver
Utah landscape
Utah sunset
The only picture we took in Vegas - of the motel six sign. We did walk around but we were beat - got in after midnight....
Made it to CALIFORNIA!!! Bird's eye view of SLO (San Luis Obispo)
Dan chillin at Friday night bonfire on Grover beach.
Awesome back patio of the house we are staying at. Lucy is snuggled up to bff Mabel.
After three days in the car of watching the terrain change, we made it to San Luis Obispo, California on Saturday May 28. It took us a couple of days to recover, but the trip was worth it. We are glad to be out here.
So far, we’ve gotten to spend some good time with the Medlock family and meet plenty of different people who are connected with the church. The first week Brittany attended a craft night for mom’s and kids, we ate dinner with a church family, and played board games with another family. Brittany got to teach the game Bohnanza (Beans) again. We also attended a weekly bonfire that several folks related to the church host on the beach every Friday evening.
Dan has been in conversation with Rev. Jon Medlock about the church’s strategic plan and how that relates to establishing small groups and children’s ministry. He has helped plan the worship service for this past sunday and this coming Sunday, June 12. This will be a big Sunday for him, as it will be the first of four or five sermons that he preaches here this summer. Dan will be preaching on Acts 2 for this coming Pentecost Sunday. He also had the opportunity to meet several college age students through a “Theology Pub” the church hosts at a local coffeehouse.
In the past two weeks, Dan felt the baby kick for the first time (Brittany has felt it for several weeks). Brittany’s belly is definitely growing and we’re amazed at the human life that God is growing inside her.
Please pray for us.
Pray for:
-Brittany and the baby boy’s continued health and development.
-Brittany as she is just now able to mentally prepare and plan for the fall. Pray that she would balance well planning for the future being present where we are
-Us as we fold into the Medlock family- that we might be an encouragement and help to them
Me as I prepare to preach this week and several other weeks
As we prepare for RUF assessment this July
As we continue to raise support for this internship and RUF assessment.
Praise
For Brittany’s graduation from Covenant Theological Seminary with her Master of Arts in Educational Ministries
The warm welcome we have received from the Medlock’s and the folks of Trinity Presbyterian
The Lord’s financial provision. We’ve raised about half of what we need for the internship and RUF assessment. Please pray that the other half will come in as well as we have conversations with other folks.
Love,
Dan & Brittany
Originally composed June 9, 2011
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