April 16, 2004

Hello Everyone,

A blessed Eastertide to you. I am sure much has happened in your lives since I last wrote in early January. I would like to let you know what has been happening here.

Most recently, I made the longest trip yet in my 2003 Toyota Camry, which now has a little over 2,000 miles on it. On Good Friday I drove to Plano, Texas, which is just north of Dallas, to spend the Easter weekend and to see some of the many relatives I have in that area. My brother Fred, Jr. and Carol were members of First United Methodist Church in Plano during the three or four years they lived in Plano and several other relatives have also been members there. Since I was there in October of 2002, First UMC has moved to a new building, and I went there Friday night for the evening service. I also went back Saturday for the egg hunt and the Easter vigil. Sadly, there were about 10 times as many people at the egg hunt as there were for the Easter vigil. Easter morning I went to the 6:30 sunrise service but it was moved inside because of the weather and no sun was to be seen. There was breakfast after that and then I attended the 8:30 service before going back to my aunt and uncle’s house. In 1999 I went to all four Easter morning services there, but this time I was in my own car so I took off early. Also, Saturday night I had been out late at IHOP with three cousins after the Easter vigil so I needed a nap before Easter dinner at 2:00.

I came back to Austin on Monday the 12th and stopped in Waco, which is about halfway, to have lunch with college friends. That night I was so sleepy that I had to go to bed much earlier than usual and slept late the next day. Now I think I am back to a higher energy level.

Tonight there was a lovely party for alumni/ae at the home of the seminary person in charge of finding jobs for graduates. Evidently it is an annual party, but the last several years it has been terribly hot for the party and last year I heard there were many flies as an added annoyance. Today the weather was lovely and I enjoyed sitting at a table in the shade until the sun went down a bit and then I moved to the porch to see some of the other people. There must have been about 50 there.

Since January I have taken two courses at the seminary, and I have also made trips to San Antonio, Kerrville, Victoria, and Marble Falls, all of these related to church business. The first trip was to Victoria for presbytery meeting last month. Then I went to San Antonio one Sunday morning to speak in a church there, and a couple of days later I went to speak at a church in Marble Falls.

In March I took a 30-hour course in training to be an interim pastor. It was a really good course, and we received a lot of material to help us decide whether or not we would want to do that kind of work and also the information would help us in any kind of church work we might do. A month before that I had taken a course in spiritual formation, part of the same program as the course I took in November. Valentine’s Day morning we had a rare Austin snow on the third day of the spiritual formation course.

Yesterday a very joyful event took place here. The day before I left Nakatsu in September I sent out over 50 boxes through the post office. Most of them arrived in a timely manner and in fairly good shape. However, over 40 of my music CDs did not make the trip and I was thinking I would never hear them again. Maybe six weeks ago I received an email from Nakatsu saying that the box of CDs had returned to Nakatsu. It is a mystery as to why it did, but they sent them again, and yesterday when I went to pick up weekend mail at the post office, there was the box of CDs. I think I may even listen to my Christmas CDs which I really missed in December, but so far I have listened to more popular type music.

Tomorrow I understand that the choir from Austin College, my alma mater, will be having a concert here in town so I am looking forward to going to that. And Sunday the youth of the church I attend will be leading the service. When they led in October, I was in Michigan preaching, so I am glad I can participate this time.

Oh, and a big news event took place on Palm Sunday when the pastor was out of town for a family emergency and I subbed for her in leading Communion. The day before that I realized that I had never led a Communion service in the United States before, though once I did say the words of institution for the bread in Japanese for a World Communion Sunday service here.

Although I have not been preaching very much at all, on the 25th I will be preaching again at the church that I usually attend. The pastor and her husband will be going to Europe for two weeks or so, and during that time, the youth will lead one Sunday and then the next week I will be preaching.

I suppose that is about the news from here. I wish you a blessed Eastertide, and I would enjoy hearing from you.

Priscilla