One Year

This past Sunday marked our one year anniversary of being in Manteo. Well, actually, the last Sunday of September was when we were voted in, but the first Sunday in October was our official first Sunday as pastors.

Of course, we spent those first two months after the vote commuting between Smithfield and Manteo before finally moving into our home December 1. As you probably already know, we have come to love this church and town and feel incredibly blessed to be here.

Here’s a brief pictorial walk down our (one year old) Memory Lane.

Commuting isn’t too terribly bad when this is the view that greets you upon arrival!

However, the Official Preparation for Commuting each weekend was always a bit of a drag.

The home schooling stuff had to make the trip, too.

Of course, Snowy was always ready to hit the road and blaze the trail. . .

. . . while his sister took a little nap.

I remember when we first glimpsed the loveliness of the town.

We puttered around in a few downtown shops where Steve acted in a decidedly un-pastoral manner.

We ate our first meal at a cafe downtown.

I remember during that meal that we were back and forth on the phone to Wisconsin as my Dad lay on his death bed. He passed away just three days after we were interviewed by the pastoral search committee. Miraculously, I was able to make it in just a few hours before his death.

So many memories from that time of life—one chapter ending, another one beginning.

On the first couple trips to Manteo, we were put up the loveliest of hotels. . .

. . . but no matter how lovely a hotel is, it isn’t home. This is the day we saw our first glimpse of the house we would eventually buy.

Here is Sarah posing with a nut picked up from our yard. I told her that if we bought the house, I might send her out foraging for fruits and nuts for dinner. She didn’t seem overly thrilled.

Steve introducing Sarah on our first Sunday.

it was scary, exciting, wonderful—all at one time!

And one year later, we’re happily settled in, thrilled to be known as Manteo-ers, and excited about what the next years here will bring.

Out of the Hallway

I'm currently functioning in half brain, full exhaustion, semi-lucid, major wiped-out mode, but I'm still going to give the writing of this post a whirl and see what comes of it.

Maybe you're tempted to ask, "Well, what in the world could be so tiring about spending the weekend in a luxury hotel in a village by the sea?"

Well, nothing, if you put it like that! (smile)

However, when you look at the big picture that stretches beyond the aforementioned idyllic seashore tableau, you'll probably find a few good reasons behind the fact that we are so wiped out. (And Steve is still in bed sick today, after a trip to the doctor.)

First of all, the entire weekend was bookended with the inescapable reality that those few hours spent in Manteo would have an indelible impact on our ministry, our jobs, our home town, our friends, our childrens' friends, Sarah's schooling, our ministerial colleagues, our finances, our neighborhood, and our long term life as a family.

On Friday night at 6 pm, when it was time for the three of us to walk into the church fellowship hall to meet the forty leaders and spouses waiting for us, I was so nervous I was seriously almost sick to my stomach. There's no feeling quite like stepping through a door and in a split second, being the instant object of curious examination by a whole group of people who could very possibly become your parishioners and friends.

Nervous energy, adrenalin and anxiety are definitely forces to be reckoned with and if you've ever dealt with any (or all) of those, you know that when they finally dissipate, they can leave you exhausted. The fact that we were "under the influence" of high doses of those three substances all weekend is a pretty good explanation for the way we're feeling today.

But the good news is that when we did walk into that fellowship room on Friday, we were welcomed with genuinely warm, fun, affirming, gracious Manteo folks. They greeted us like we were long lost relatives and made us feel like we belonged.

Although there had been some plans for the youth group to go bowling, the plans had to be changed so Sarah was with us for that evening meal. She enjoyed meeting everyone as well and I was very proud of her for so charmingly holding her own with forty adults she didn't know. That girl is a trouper!

Saturday morning, Steve and I were at the church at 9 am to meet with the drummer and sound man and were joined by the singers a couple hours later.

Now I must say that this appointment was another source of anxiety for Steve and me. After having done music together for 28 years in all sorts of settings, we have learned the unfortunate truth that sometimes gifted musicians can be hard to work with, and can also struggle with various levels of cockiness. We were walking into this rehearsal cold, not knowing what the musicians' attitudes would be like and not even knowing if the singers could sing or if the drummer could truly "drum."

But happy, happy day! When everyone had gathered, we were presented with a group of folks who were fun , teachable, happy and gifted!

It was almost 1 pm by the time we finished rehearsal; we took lunch back to the hotel (Sarah had stayed there all morning to catch up on school work) and then got down to the "business" of resting up for the church picnic at 4 pm. We had the chance to meet some of the rest of the church people that night and learn a few more names. There was actually shrimp served at this picnic and also plenty of chocolate on the dessert table, so we were happy campers!

Sunday morning, we were back at the church at 8:30 to rehearse a little more with the team and then do the 10:30 service. I have played keyboard and sung on many hundreds of platforms in my life, but only twice have I ever stood on a stage in the role of potential pastor's wife. It's a very different (and scary) sort of feeling!

Here's Sarah being introduced.

The music with the team went great and Steve did an excellent job preaching. We met a few more folks, grabbed lunch and then headed back to the hotel to rest up and gear up for the evening service and The Vote.

That evening, after we had sung and Steve had preached, the three of us took ourselves off to the fellowship hall in the opposite end of the building to sit and commence waiting. And that is where the picture was taken that I posted last night!

Here it is again in a closer view.

I got three great guesses about the picture but one of them (by Susan B) hit the nail on the head. Steve's middle name is Kever and that's the name in the picture.

His middle name is a combination of his mom's name (Vernie) and his dad's name (Ken) and we had never seen it any other place in our whole lives. And then, sitting there waiting for the voting to be done Sarah said, "Hey, look! That basketball goal has 'Kever' written on it!"

I must say that it was a great stress reducer to laugh about that and take the inevitable photo of Steve posing with his "namesake."

And then it was just a few minutes after that when we heard the door to the fellowship room open and the Chairman of the Board say something like, "Come on, Pastor Steve. Time to say hello to your congregation!"

We walked down the hall and stepped into the lobby where the whole congregation was smiling and applauding. After many sweet hugs and enthusiastic congratulations from our new family, we headed out to the van to contact our "old" family.

The first phone call was to Nathan, who we had texted while we were sitting and waiting for the vote results. He was so sweet and affirming and happy for us. I really missed having him there with us.

Then Steve called his parents (who were thrilled) and I called my mom. She said, "Well, I'm so glad you called. I was just sitting here, literally, this very moment, and praying for you." She was so thankful for the news.

The call to her was bittersweet for me, because my dad has always been our biggest cheerleader through all of our years of ministry. To not be able to say, "Dad, Steve was just voted in as pastor in Manteo," just hit me so hard in the heart. As soon as I hung up with Mom, I was in tears, wishing for the chance to hear my dad's voice as well.

I somehow have to believe, though, that he knows that "his kids" are back in full time ministry and that somewhere in heaven he's joining my mom as she rejoices for us.

There are more questions to answer and more stories to tell, but I'll sign off for now by saying thanks again for your support and prayers during these ten months that we've waited in the hallway, waiting for the next place God had for us to be.

It's wonderful to be finally stepping out of the hallway and into the rest of our lives.

It's Over

We are tired. Happy. Exhausted. Drained. Thrilled. Excited.

Oh yes. And did I also mention "ELECTED?"

Yes, indeedy. By a strong majority vote, Steve was elected as pastor of First Assembly in Manteo, NC. We've been sitting around in a daze for the last hour or two trying to process the weekend.

I'm not sure when we've ever been this tired but deep in our hearts, we know are at peace and we know we are where we're supposed to be.

Thanks to everyone who has checked in with us this weekend; I'll have lots more to write about later.

Now it's time for a group hug and group woo-hoo!