8:45 am - We decide that going all the way across the city to Spring of Truth isn’t the best plan after all, since it is starting to snow pretty hard. Pete begins researching other churches that are closer.
9:15 – He determine we should go to another church someone has recommended. He gets out the map, studies it, and tells us all to get ready to go.
9:45 - We leave to go the new church, which starts at 10:00.
10:05 - After many turns and twists (and going the wrong way down some one-way streets), we realize we are not going the right direction.
10:10 – The only way we can get to the church seems to be to go the wrong way down another one-way street.
10:15 – Find ourselves in a section full of dead-ends and muddy non-roads. After jostling over the 800th pot-hole, we decide to give up.
10:25 – On our way back home, we remember that Emmanuel church starts at 10:30. Should we go to that one instead? “YES!” demands Rayna.
10:30—After great deliberation, we decide that Pete will take Rayna and Colsen to that service. Since it’s all in Russian and very long, we think it would be best if I kept Miles home. Strider is ambivalent.
10:32 – Colsen is crying because he doesn’t want to go and Miles is crying because he does want to go. Strider announces that he knows this whole adventure is going to become a blog post.
10:33 – Pete drops half of us at home, and no one is very happy with the arrangement. Strider and Miles both get mud alllll over their pants, stomping through puddles between the road and our house.
10:34 – I call Pete and tell him that Miles is still crying and maybe we should just all go to the service.
10:35—Pete comes back to pick us up. As we come out of our gate, one of the dogs escapes and runs down the street. Pete retrieves dog, and the rest of us pile in the car. Rayna is thrilled that the whole family is together again.
10:45 – We find ourselves standing in the foyer of Emmanuel church, waiting for a good moment to traipse disruptively into the small sanctuary. As Pete and I look at our very muddy children and contemplate trying to keep them quiet through the long, Russian service, we start to reconsider our plan. Pete suggests we go to Agape church, instead, which starts at 11:00, so at least we will not be rudely late, and perhaps we can slip out of that service early if we talk to our friend, the pastor, about it before the service starts.
10:50 – We are piled back in the car, heading to Agape church.10:51 – Suddenly remember that Agape starts at 10:00, not 11:00. (Spring of Truth is the one that starts at 11.)
11:00—Arrive back home. No Spring of Truth church today. No new church today. No Emmanuel church today. No Agape church today. Church at home today instead.
11:05 – Pete says he feels like Papa Berenstain Bear in “The Bears’ Picnic.” (In that story, which we have read hundreds of times to the kids, the father is trying to take the family on a picnic, but is foiled at every turn… until they end up returning home to have their lunch there, “the perfect picnic spot.”)
I wish I could say that the rest of the morning was at least calm and worshipful, as we listened to a podcast-sermon, read verses, and prayed. But even picking a sermon was quite a process…. But I think this story is already long enough!
wow! if only we had your dedication. we did home church yesterday too, but there was no snow, language barrier or really any great reason not to go - we were just tired. But if God gave bonus points, I think y'all would've earned an awful lot yesterday :)
ReplyDeleteAh, Kate, don't be too impressed! Church is basically our only real family outing for the whole week these days! So we try anyway...
ReplyDelete