where we've been, where we're going.

 It's been almost two years since I started this blog. I will be the very first to say that it hasn't been very consistent in regards to time between updates or content or... anything. I started it mostly as a way to update friends and family about our whereabouts/plans without resorting to obnoxiously long Facebook posts.

I hope I'll continue to blog [and get better at it, too] in the future, as I enjoy writing and sharing things on this kind of platform. But today as I'm enjoying a lazy Sunday afternoon and writing my first real post since March [oops], I'm thinking about the past. More specifically, about the journey of the last two years of our lives and Drew's ordination process, and the end that is in sight for this particular time in our lives.

Two years ago I wrote about a significant change in our plans that included moving to South Carolina and bringing ordination a year closer.  I wrote about my thankfulness for our community, even as I wrote about home and missing my family. We finished our time in Durham, saying goodbye to that place and those fabulous people as we said hello to a new state, new school and a new community.

Our first five months in Columbia included me working in 4 different offices and Drew being approved for ordination. February brought snow, but more importantly, regional and synodical assignment, and thus finding out where God and the Church was calling us to serve.

And now, it's August again, and that "inevitably sweltering summer day" of packing a truck that seemed so far away in February is on the immediate horizon, because the whole first-call thing that we've been talking about for so long is no longer a thing of the future, but a thing of the present.

Post by Drew Tucker.

So, we are packing for our third move in three years and are incredibly excited about the new place and people we have been called to. And though we're reaching one finish line, there are many new adventures beginning as we become first time home owners [yikes!] in addition to starting full-time ministry at a new church and on a new college campus. You know. Nbd.

[x]

Ashland

6 years ago today, I moved into the dorms at Ashland for the first time. I can remember how absolutely terrified I was as I prepared to meet my new roommate and say goodbye to my family. I also remember how quickly I realized that Lauren was pretty great, and I was going to be just fine.

Freshman year Religious Life Retreat

It's no secret to anyone who knows me that I loved my years at AU. It was an incredible time of personal and spiritual growth for me. I [almost always] really enjoyed the courses I took, especially the classes in the Religion department. I found amazing friends and a wonderful faith community.

2010 Call Retreat at Mowana

The campus went through times of joy and sadness, and so did I. As is normal for a college student, life was often crazy and busy. Late nights of reading and paper-writing in between doing rounds in Clayton as an RA. Early mornings for class or giving tours for the Admissions' office on the weekends. 

Clayton Hall staff Fall 2010

For three and a half years I spent Thursday nights at the Well, had countless movie nights in the dorms, and braved the long Convo lines for brunch on the weekends. There was morning coffee or late night snacks in the Eagles' nest, homework in Lower Chapel, and playing piano in the practice rooms. I found friends and mentors, watched relationships begin, survived road trips and retreats, and learned how to nap.

Oh... and I met this guy. And then Tom came to Ashland as well. And he met a girl.

I guess you can say that AU was good to us :)

Saying Goodbye

Despite the cool, rainy day here in Columbia, it is in fact the middle of August. Drew is attending orientation events today at Southern, and his classes start on Monday. I knew the summer would go by quickly as it always does, but I still can't believe we're nearing the end of it.

We are finally settling into this place. Drew (the wonderful nerd that he is) is incredibly excited about getting back into the classroom. I've been working my new job for a week now and am enjoying it. We're making great friends within this community of students. A year after accepting (somewhat begrudgingly) that we would have to move to Columbia, I am happy that we are here and excited for what the year will bring.

But change, even good change, must allow for some mourning for what has been lost. So, for just for a few moments, I'm going to let myself be sad. Because Drew's day full of orientation meetings has reminded me again that, for the first time in four years, we are not anticipating the arrival of our students and another year at Duke.

As if the experience of Duke Divinity wasn't enough, Drew's jobs in RLHS and Religious Life made the 2+ years we spent together in Durham quite an adventure. Better still, those jobs allowed us to work alongside fantastic staff people, and serving/ministering to a wide variety of students. I [almost always] enjoyed living in Bell Tower with the freshman, watching as they found their way in their new setting and figuring out what would shape their time at Duke. Working closer with the undergrads who were our RAs was better still. But our time serving the Duke Lutherans is what sticks out most. They are what made Duke so special. They are why I didn't want to leave. They are what I'm letting myself be sad about today.

It's not that things were always great, that every event was successful and everyone always got along. None of that. It was a group of imperfect people, from all over the country and the world, with different interests, opinions and career paths. But we laughed together. We worshiped, ate, cried, traveled, argued, sang and served together. It was an incredible blessing to get to know these undergrad and graduate students, to learn about their lives, to watch them persevere through academic and personal trials, to count them as friends.

So, to each of you, I want to say thank you. Thank you for sharing your lives and your time at Duke with me. For the Sunday night worship and dinners, conversations in the lounge, retreats, mission trips, holiday meals, facebook banter and movie nights. And, probably most importantly, thank you for the role you have played in our lives and our ministry in the church. Whether you know it or not, our time with you has been crucial in our continued discernment about Drew's call to ministry, and I am so grateful for your support and affirmation of him.

As your last days of summer wind down and you finish up the variety of crazy exciting things you've been doing over the past couple months, know that you are in our thoughts and prayers as you head back to Duke. It was an absolute privilege to be with you these past two years, and I am sad to say goodbye. But I look forward to stalking following your year on social media, to seeing how you continue to grow and work together as a group with new leadership and direction, fueled by love for God and one another. Because, as some guy a couple months ago reminded us, "Love is the only thing that makes new beginnings out of endings."

A New Chapter

After a quick weekend up in Durham, Stan the Man and I are back in our new apartment in Columbia, this time for good. Well, mostly. We have a few trips planned this summer (for baby nephew's baptism and Brother Bear's WEDDING!), and I will be back in Durham for Drew's final Sunday at St. Paul's, but just for a weekend. In the grand scheme of things, I live in South Carolina now.

Woot.

Drew is still living in Durham finishing his internship through the end of July, which means I am living in SC alone. Well, technically with Stan, but he's not much of a conversationalist.  And Drew is going to be pretty swamped, especially in the next two weeks, working at a camp at Duke, so he will not be available to chat very often. I'll be busy working (a temp job), looking for full-time work, and unpacking, but let's be honest, I'm going to be lonely. So I would like to apologize in advance for the probable excessive use of social media over the next month. I'm just pretty confident it's going to happen, so sorry if that's super annoying to you.

Drew's journey here will start with classes in August, but I am here looking for a job and trying to get the apartment unpacked and learn a new city. I'd appreciate your prayers as we enter this new chapter of our lives! A few requests in particular would be:

- That I find a job (that I like) quickly! I am mostly looking at office type jobs right now because that is what my experience is in, but I'm open to a change as well!

- That I find a community of friends: I'll probably be checking out a church this Sunday, and there are some people living on campus here. Fortunately, Stan is very friendly and a great ice-breaker when I see people walking around but am feeling shy :P

- For Drew: that the camp at Duke will go well, that the remainder of his time at St. Paul's would continue to be a good experience, and that his transition out of Durham and into Columbia would go smoothly.

- For silly things: like that I would be focused and productive at home so I can get this place unpacked; that I won't find any more cockroaches while unpacking (yes, welcome to the South); that the incredibly sketchy wireless network here would be... less sketchy, I guess, because I really like having Pandora or Netflix on when I'm here by myself and right now that is just not happening; and that I can finally get my TomTom to update it's maps, because a GPS is the only way I'm going to be able to get anywhere down here.

Thanks in advance for your prayers :) I will post some pictures of the new place once it is more presentable!


Also, some good advice for your life:

Ch-ch-ch-changes

Well... the cat is out of the bag.

As I alluded to in my first post, I knew some changes were coming for Drew and I in this upcoming year. This past week it became official, and yesterday we announced it to our students, so now we can share with the rest of the world.

First, some helpful background info: Drew is in the ordination process for the Lutheran church [for those of you who don't live at a seminary, that's the fancy way of saying he is working towards being a Pastor]. Part of that process is getting a Masters of Divinity, which is the degree he completed at Duke this past spring. However, since Duke is not a Lutheran seminary, he is required to take some additional Lutheran specific classes to complete this process before he can be ordained. This is something we were aware of and had prepared for. Our plan was for him to commute to the closest Lutheran seminary (which is in Columbia, SC) part time over the next two years to complete these courses. This would allow us to stay in Durham and for him to continue his work with Duke Lutherans. At the end of those two years, we would move somewhere for our "internship year" which is another part of the ordination process, and then he would officially be a Pastor. Huzzah.

As you might have guessed from the title of this post, however, some things have changed. In a turn of events that requires a lot of explaining [and possibly a strong drink] to get through, going to the seminary in SC part time is not a viable option. As we were not made aware of this fact until the weekend before classes started, that did not give us a lot of time to figure out an alternative. I'm not gonna lie, it was a very long weekend of discouragement and frustration. Fortunately, God is good. Drew's ordination committee from Ohio rallied around us, as did our local church here in Durham. Thanks to their advocacy and some compromise from the seminary, we have a new plan in place.

Thus, as of October 1, Drew will begin his internship year, serving as the "vicar" at St. Paul's here in Durham. St. Paul's, for those of you who don't know, is the church Drew is already employed at, the church that sponsors Duke Lutherans. This means that Drew will continue his work on campus, as well as pick up extra responsibilities at St. Paul's. The internship year for an ordination candidate is to immerse them in full-time ministry under the supervision of an experienced Pastor, and we are beyond pleased for that to be happening here at St. Paul's. If the past year of Drew working there had not been enough, the overwhelming support we received yesterday at church after it was announced was just further encouragement that we are in a good place, surrounded by good people.

On the other hand, this means that next summer, once internship is over, we will be leaving Durham in order for Drew to be a full-time student at a Lutheran seminary. After a year of full-time classes, he will be eligible for ordination and we will take our first call. Crazy, right?

While we are excited for ordination to be a full year closer, we are also aware of what we are giving up for that to happen. Our plan for Drew to commute for his classes wasn't ideal, but we chose it for a good reason: we wanted to stay here longer. We love Durham, Duke, our students and our community. We are invested in this place and these people, and we were so looking forward to living life here for two more years.

But, ordination is the goal. Better still, ordination is the call. So while we may not love all the steps to getting there, we know that pressing on towards that call is what we need to do.

So... we are going to enjoy every single second of this year. Retreats, worship, meals and fellowship with our students. The beautiful weather and amazing food that Durham offers. Enjoying and encouraging our friends as their own lives change. We are excited for what's ahead of us, this year and beyond. It'll be crazy, but it will be great :)

...except for packing the house. that won't be so great.

A new year...

No, it is not January. Technically a new year has not begun.

However, today is my birthday. (!) And, working with college students means that the year starts with classes in August. So in a very real sense, today does mark a new year for me.

I have stayed off of the blogging bandwagon for quite awhile, but in thinking about the upcoming year and the [planned & unplanned] changes it will bring, I thought it was time. Time to start recording my thoughts in this way. Time to make some commitments and have some accountability. Time to share my life with y'all.

So bear with me as I figure this thing out. Suggestions/comments are appreciated :)