I think when I look back on Summer 2012, I will think "woah." It's only the third week of summer and I've already been to both coasts and Texas, with another Texas trip coming up at the end of the month. Woah. After a wonderful visit to Mary and Kurtis' place in NYC back in April...I guess I felt like I could travel a bit more. Between hanging out with them I attended a Lutheran Clergy conference in New Jersey...it was there that I met two pastors from Southern California (the area that I've been assigned to for the First-Call process). These two pastors were wonderful, full of energy and cheer. They told me that I absolutely needed to come out for the Synod Assembly (yearly gathering of local clergy and lay-delegates) so I could meet a bunch of people. They returned to LA and called the office there and began putting together a plan for me to fly out and visit. At the end of May I hopped on a plane to LA. Even though the trip was brief, I was able to meet a bunch of other clergy including those who are in-charge of my paperwork, and had the opportunity to preach at a local church. I am currently in the interview process for a church in West Los Angeles...so members of that committee came to hear me preach and took me out to lunch afterwards. I felt good about the sermon and my interaction with the committee. You can read the sermon here. So what are my chances??? ---basically...its a "buyer's market" for clergy these days. So there's no rush on their end. The word on the street is that its basically down to me and a mid-career pastor from nearby. We're both solid candidates, so their choice will reflect the direction they want the church to go in, NOT our pastoral competencies. That's assuring to know...so I'm waiting again. I'm getting pretty good at waiting by now :) This weekend I preformed my first-wedding for a couple I know from Texas in the great state of New Hampshire. It was fun, people cried (the happy kind), and after the wedding I got to bum around Boston with a friend of mine. We walked around for 8 hours! FYI: the bathrooms at MIT were entirely unimpressive technologically. How does Randy do it? Traveling so much is so exhausting! I've finally touched down back in Kansas for a bit. I will be kept busy with Cosmosphere camp driving and substituting for summer pre-school. All this traveling has reminded me how grateful I am to be connected to so many thoughtful, patient, and jovial folks all over the country. Someday soon I'll live far away, and I will host when YOU visit! Exploring new places can be thrilling, moving out west remains a tantalizing possibility, but for the moment...Its good to be home. Who knows, maybe I'll even get a little sun this summer :)