An update on life in Dallas...by Kelly

It's been a busy (and somewhat tiring) first month of seminary. Between work and school we've got a pretty full schedule, and it looks to be that way for a while. But we have managed a trip to IKEA and a couple of game nights with friends (who introduced us to the world of Settlers of Catan - if you haven't played, you should. It's pretty awesome). We've been to a couple of the local parks for ultimate frisbee and barbecues, and thanks to my wonderful husband we spent our anniversary at Shakespeare in the Park. We had a picnic dinner on a blanket in front of the stage, dining on goat cheese Brie with fig spread, paella, spinach and artichoke dip, lemony cauliflower, mustard potato salad, and chocolate-covered strawberries. It was quite delightful!

We also had a chance to take a mini-road trip to see our friends and former community group co-leaders, who came down to visit family. That was a huge blessing, as I was getting pretty homesick. I never realized how comforting it is to see someone from "back home," after you've been away for a while. We caught each other up on our lives, church stuff, and plans for the summer. It was good medicine for our hearts.

Other things I miss from home: my mom and dad, our community group, my coworkers at New Heights, Mama Carmen's coffee, the farmers' market, my sewing machine (I left it at my mom's house), and knowing exactly where everything is in Walmart.

One of our first verbs, eimi.

Seminary itself has been a challenging experience, but we're working though it together and becoming really great study partners! We spend evenings making color-coded vocabulary note cards and writing each word dozens of times, creating mnemonics for adjectives and verbs, and working through practice sentences. It's not easy, and there are definitely days when I'd rather be hanging out at the library or watching a movie than reviewing Greek participles. 


But we've been trying to remind ourselves that the goal of seminary is to be drawn closer to Christ, to learn more about Him and to share his good news with those around us. And for this stage of our life, learning Greek participles and verb tenses is a part of that. How? First, because our professor is amazing and manages to bring out some aspect of the Gospel in each and every class (along with references to The Matrix, The Karate Kid, and Downton Abbey, which is awesome). Also, it's opened up some really cool conversations with people who are curious as to why John and I are studying the language. We get to tell them that we're in seminary, and what we see God doing in our lives. The class itself is full of wonderful people with passionate hearts and optimistic attitudes, and we're both hoping to develop close relationships with them as we work through these next months of Greek together. All this combined is a greater picture of God's plan for us, and we are amazed at His goodness. 

Bonus: I now know that Oikos means house, which is weird when you see it on a yogurt container. And hippopotamus means river horse, which is just awesome. 

- Kelly

χάρις και ειρνην υμίν!