A picture is worth a thousand words, right? And I took this picture on my phone, so you can only imagine how much more beautiful it is in person.I've been here a little over 24 hours now, and I've always been pretty good at adjusting to new places but from some reason this adjustment hasn't just felt like any other adjustment. I can see myself returning to this place, a place that's starting to feel like home, in the future. Oh, and what helped the whole process? I went in to town (this was the second trip to town today) and went to a store called, 'charlie john's' and bought some hand soap to use at the sink in our room. I'm officially settled in. What can I say, hand soap apparently makes all the difference. =-)
This morning I went for my second run since I've been here... it's just so invigorating to be in such a quaint place and to get to go and explore by myself. I found a laundromat, car wash, salon, post office, speculator's "department store" (notice the use of quotes... needless to say, it's more like a house looking thing that sells clothes that say 'adirondack mountains'), diner, playground, ice cream places, volunteer ambulance and police services (population of speculator, ny from what I hear is somewhere around 7 *hehe* and I guess they don't see the need to pay people... besides, if you think about it... a majority of the people living here probably volunteer... personally I think it's a pretty nifty system, for a small community anyway. not sure how well a volunteer system would work in a place say, like.... ny city haha). And on that note, a number of jokes about the town and its size have already been made (for instance that whole 'population 7' is a joke I picked up during church service this morning). But I think that's one of the reasons I love it so much and have already made the 'hike' into town 3 times since I've been here. I've always had this dream of at some point living in a small town. You know the kind. Everyone knows everyone, there's a gazebo in the center, and a diner that the locals frequent, and people water each other's gardens when they're away... oh, and the kind where the volunteer staff that services the town.
All of the people who live in speculator know us as 'the people who come and go every summer'. The town doesn't see a lot of action during the off season. But for those dedicated few who have permanent residency here, it's clearly the place they call home. But the people are so friendly. I introduced myself and talked to a few people in town and everyone is very welcoming.
Tomorrow marks the start of early mornings, long work days, regular small group meetings and chapel, as well as probably less sleep. But the hours of sleep are going to be pretty good after such long days I would imagine. Did I mention how excited I am for tomorrow?
I'm ready to grow in ways I can't even imagine, and continue to build relationships that will hopefully last a lifetime. It's nice getting comfortable with where everything is and starting to learn names (can be difficult to remember some of them... but give me time. after all, there are about 300 of us on staff. that's a lot of names.) I'm also looking to spend a considerable amount of quiet time by myself. Getting away from all the noise and commotion of my everyday life back home is a rare occasion once classes start, and I fully plan on taking hold of this awesome opportunity. Above all else, I'm hoping to grow in my relationship with God, humbling myself everyday at how amazing he is through both the good, the bad, and the ugly.
Until next time.
God Bless
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