May 16

Sunday! Sunday! Sunday!

I got up earlier than I should have, 7:45am, to get to church in time for the 8:30 service. I got to the church at about 8:35 because I was under the impression that I would be introduced to the 8:30 crowd. Well, Roger forgot about that, so I just wandered around for the 45 minutes until teachers and volunteers started showing up.

I seemingly had everything laid out, ready to go. All materials and junk were in place, happily in order. Chaos was a discouraging word, for I had definitely planned everything out where I would be under little stress.

Wrong.

Well, only slightly wrong. I forgot completely about the 2nd/3rd grade small group materials for the 9:30 classes! Ahhh!! Oh well, I figured out where the booklet was... it was hiding under a lot of stuff in my office--there's my reason/excuse for missing it. I made the 80 copies of the coloring page, the 10 copies of the verse cards (with 10 verses on each page), and 2 front and back copies of the question cards. I copied, folded, cut, and rushed back downstairs in plenty of time. Whew! Chaos averted. The teachers were impressed with how fast I did all of that (about 6 minutes). Yeah, they're starting to dig the skills. Haha... what skills? (I ask myself?) Crazy? (I'm not crazy.) Maybe. (You are.) Am I talking to myself?

OKKKKkkk... sorry about that random bit of "what-the-heck-edness?" I'm weird. I get it. Thanks. Let's move on.

After the initial rush for the 2/3rd grade stuff, things went relatively smooth. I only had one call from someone who wasn't able to make it. I was more impressed that the person got my number and then called me in plenty of time. No worries. He was just a helper to the teacher anyways. There are two teachers for the 4 year old class, so it was no big deal. Thanks Kevin for calling. It helped more than you know.

I got a hold of the right person, Todd, to remind Roger (who was preaching) that I needed to be introduced for the 9:30 service. We did so, awkwardly, but effectively, I guess. He said,

"Well, I'm on my way out, but this guy here is on his way in. This is Clint Bowles. He is the new intern for the Children's Ministry. He has finished up all his schooling at Manhattan Christian College in Kansas, and started last week. Because Joy left on her 'congratulations for the 10-years' vacation from the church, Clint has been thrown into the fray. You might have seen him running around the Children's Ministry areas, making sure things are running properly.

"While Clint is here, his wife, Holly, is still in Manhattan. The reason behind that is that they do not have a place to live. This is where we need you to help. Maybe you have a basement or living area or even a house that Clint and Holly could live in. We need your help. If you can help, grab a hold of me (Roger), Todd, Bill, Rusty, or even Clint, and we'll be happy to see what we can to do help Clint find a place to live for the next year.

"We want to welcome Clint to Capitol City, and we look forward to meeting your wife as well as looking forward to seeing what you can do in the Children's Ministry. Help me welcome Clint!" (crowd erupts with raucous applause)

I did this twice on Sunday, at the 9:30 and 11:00 services. Basically, I just stood there while Roger told a little bit about me. It was kind of awkward just standing there. I didn't know if I should look at Rusty while he spoke or look out at the audience. I did both, but felt weird staring someone down... GUILTING them. Bwahaha... GIVE ME A HOME, OR I'LL MAKE YOU FEEL JUST AS AWKWARD AS I AM NOW!!!

The 11:00 service went swimmingly. Nothing went wrong. All classes were covered. All materials were in place. Nothing for me to do except just walk around an monitor things to make sure that every volunteer and teacher were doing well. There was one teacher who didn't show up for the 11:00 2 year old class, but the 9:30 teacher filled in. She let me know that the regular teacher taught her last class last week. Well, that's dandy. Maybe the old teacher (Elizabeth) should tell someone like me, Joy, any of the other main coordinators, main volunteers... anyone! I could have got that class covered but I didn't know. I felt sorry for the lady who did both the 9:30 and 11:00, but she's a trooper, and I'll fix that for next week so she doesn't have to pull double duty.

Noon rolled around. Things were fine. Classrooms and large group areas were clean. Teachers were heading out. Kids were leaving with their parents. I could go. A long morning, and now it's time to get around to other non-church things.

First was the rush home to watch the Barcelona game. They won, 4-0 to claim the league title and trophy. It was a glorious day for Spanish football. I dream of the day I can watch a Barca game in the Nou Camp. It will be amazing, I'm sure.

I cleaned the house after the game. This included vacuuming all the downstairs and main floor. Not the upstairs bedrooms, because I hadn't been up there, those doors are shut for a reason, I guess. I then made my bed. Folded and put away my laundry. Did the dishes. Let the dogs pee. Picked up whatever else made the place look bad. Then I headed out the door. Onward to Manhattan!

Well, I'm in Manhattan after my 2 hour and 22 minute drive. That's twice in a row now that the drive from Manhattan to Lincoln (and vise-versa) took 2:22. How's that for consistency? Holly had "chili con queso" ready for me when I walked in the door. Yum! Real food. Not mac and cheese. Nom nom nom (that's me eating). We went to IHOP later, and Kasey Portenier showed up and ate and played Take-2 with us. Then we played Hillbilly version of Take-2. It was fun fun times times.

Now, it is sleepy time. A long day is in the books. A sleep in day is in the cards for tomorrow. Til next time that something interesting happens, which will be tomorrow night......

clint