NW District Conference Day 3

Today was day three of the NW District all workers conference. The morning was filled with lecture by our keynote speaker Rev. Jack Preus. The lecture itself was okay but the opening the floor for questions was long. Since we were on such a roll they decided not to take the half hour break. Needless to say it the topic of discussion we never really got to but rather tip toed around the subject at hand. Do not get me wrong, it has it's place but I feel table discussion would have been more beneficial as it would have engaged more people rather than one person talking and one person (the same expert) answering the question. Needless to say After the four hour morning of large group session I was ready for lunch.

For lunch us Alaska DCE's headed down to the beach. Larry, Gretchen, Jamie and I found a swing set conveniently built and we took the opportunity to relive childhood memories and swing. We then walked out to the water. It was colder today 55 degrees, and windy on the ocean shore. The shore was covered with green alge and a goo of some sort.

green goop-we thought it was a jelly fish but Larry said it wasn't

Larry examining the goop. It was everywhere along the beach.

The Pacific Ocean

Represent Alaska!

Jamie, me and Gretchen on the beach swings

After the beach we had lunch at a quaint little place called Tsunami sandwich Company. On the west coast they have a special brand of cheese called “Tillamook”. In the Tsunami  Sandwich company shop they serve all their sandwiches with Tillamook Cheese which is made in the town of Tillamook, Oregon. It was quite good. The best part was when I found out they had huckleberry ice cream. Huckleberries are a west coast berry and the last time I had huckleberries was on St. Matthew’s Mission trip to Shoshone Base camp in Idaho when I was in high school. It was delicious, and is my favorite ice cream of all time.

YUM! Huckleberry ice cream!

In the afternoon we had our break-out sessions which were very good and applicable to me. My first session was about the partnership between and Lutheran church and Lutheran school and how the two work together, yet separate. Someday I may work in a congregation with a Lutheran school so I found it very informative.

The second session was on sharpening your vocation. It talked about five steps to identifying if you are in the right place and how to best utilize your talents to the service of others. It was the best session of the day and once again very applicable to me and my future in ministry.

We then went out for an early dinner since Gretchen had to be back to help with evening worship. A group of thirteen Pastors, their wives, and DCE’s went out to a restaurant called Bigfoot’s Pub and Grub.

Greeting with a smile.

Todd with the Bigfoot Burger it's HUGE!

On a side note the Bigfoot headquarters is located in Oregon. The restaurant had a whole menu with facts built into it on Bigfoot sightings etc. Apparently the NW district is Bigfoot country. The restaurant also contains museum type set up with displays and facts. One of the featured items is the "Yeti Burger" it's huge and contains 1 pound of ground chuck, ham, egg, cheddar and Swiss with lettuce, tomato, onions, pickle and special sauce. Two people, Todd and Joe, at our table ordered it but only Todd finished.

After supper we dropped of Gretchen to prepare for evening worship and Jamie and I hit up the outlet mall and got baby Gavin some cute clothes at Oshkosh B'gosh.

We then went to evening worship. It was way cool as ALL workers (Pastors, DCE's, Deacons/Deaconess', and Lutheran classroom teachers were present). The Concordia University Portland choir was there to help lead worship. It was a lot of singing but it was a great mix of contemporary and traditional style which was greatly appreciated. We all communed and the whole convention center was filled with the Holy Spirit, quite literally.

Concordia Portland Choir.

After worship it was a time of fellowship which had drinks, and dessert. I met up with Natalie Duran a graduate of Concordia St. Paul who is now a Lutheran Classroom Teacher in Anchorage Alaska. We were both tired, as she just flew in today with what was a long day of missing flights and waiting on standby. But she was here and it was great to see her. Once a Lutheran always a family :)

Natalie!