Finals week. I weighed in this morning. Ellen & Lisa Such brought me a certificate, balloons, and poppers to 
celebrate my weight loss. About 15 pounds! I'm happy with that! Then I got to meet with Bob this morning for our final supervisory meeting. I found a cool shirt online to get him as a gift. It said, “Jesus loves me, and my tattoos!” I saw a guy wearing it at the synod assembly, and knew I needed to get it for Bob. Turns out, he saw the shirt there too and wanted to find it himself! YES! I also saw the published version of my first and last newsletter article at Good Shepherd. Here’s what it said:
As I rounded the corner on my jog this morning I caught a huge whiff of a jasmine and was reminded of just how good God is, and how much I’m going to miss it here. I don’t think we have jasmine in Minnesota. There are a lot of things I wish I could take with me back home. A fist full of
jasmine, and all of you! For ten months, I’ve been stretched, blessed, and felt incredible love from the Good Shepherd community, and I wanted my first and final newsletter article to be an overdose of thanks!
-A double-overhead thank you goes to Pastor Bob for his supervision, surfing, support, prayers of encouragement, and belief in me during those times when I wondered what the heck God had in mind for me. We met weekly for the last ten months, and I was blessed to learn from someone I truly admire. My first real mentor!
-My “CA Parents,” Bill and Jane Long graciously welcomed me into their home during my visit. They prepared a beautiful room, tortured me with their cat J, gave me kitchen privileges with no restrictions (I owe them lots of ice cream and milk), and treated me like family.
-The Intern Task Force (Mark, Camille, Greg, Sue, Kristin, Peter, & Michael) were forced to sit through every sermon this year. Wow, what dedication! Thanks for your fair evaluations and for giving me an outlet to work through the trials and triumphs of ministry.
-Who wants to go home and eat alone? Not I! Thanks to all who welcomed me into their homes, or took me to their favorite hangout/restaurant. My favorite evenings in Torrance were spent getting
to know the people of GS on a more personal level. If you know that I like ice in my milk, you know this thank you is especially for you!
-Working in a church would be lame if not for an awesome staff! If I ever needed help, had a question, or ran out of steam, the gifted GS staff jumped in and helped! Not to mention all the incredible young adults who really stepped out in faith with me as their new leader and became my closest friends.
-I have to be sure to thank anyone who ever gave me a hug, offered a word
of encouragement, laughed at my random mannerisms, sent me a card, or called to check in. These little gestures kept my love thank full. Thank you!
-To the anonymous donor who paid to have my car fixed before I leave for Minnesota—who are you? J At this time in my life, with many things to pay for, what a huge blessing to not get set back financially by a few repairs. From VW and me, thank you so very much!!
Well, I have had a lump in my throat for the last 2 weeks straight, and my eyes are welling even as I write this. So many people to thank, and one intern who has been touched forever. My intern friends are scattered all over the country doing ministry in all sorts of contexts, and
they’re all in agreement: my internship has been the best site. Ever! I would agree with them. God has been so good to me this year, and I pray God’s rich blessing for all of you in the days ahead.
My office is finally getting a little packed up. I managed to accumulate two boxes of books while I was here. After packing up a few boxes at home as well, I headed over to the Rognlien’s house for our staff farewell party. Everyone came out for a great night of slacklining, food, burned steaks, and Amber time! Lisa Such brought adorable cupcakes, and Lisa Strom brought longboard chips from Trader Joe's. All the staff kids joined in on the fun and brought a lot of energy to the night. As a going away present, the staff presented me with
my very own 6 foot surfboard that they signed. They also got me a Becker Surfboard t-shirt, surf wax, stickers, a beach bag, and a sun hat! I’m going to look so out of context when I go back to Lake Okabena with all this stuff on. Toward the end of the night, everyone gathered around and shared some of their favorite Amber memories. I was hoping they’d forget the really embarrassing stuff, but no such luck. More prayers from everyone, more tears, and back home I went. I hope it gets easier once Kevin gets here. All these goodbyes and prayer times are getting harder and harder.
celebrate my weight loss. About 15 pounds! I'm happy with that! Then I got to meet with Bob this morning for our final supervisory meeting. I found a cool shirt online to get him as a gift. It said, “Jesus loves me, and my tattoos!” I saw a guy wearing it at the synod assembly, and knew I needed to get it for Bob. Turns out, he saw the shirt there too and wanted to find it himself! YES! I also saw the published version of my first and last newsletter article at Good Shepherd. Here’s what it said:As I rounded the corner on my jog this morning I caught a huge whiff of a jasmine and was reminded of just how good God is, and how much I’m going to miss it here. I don’t think we have jasmine in Minnesota. There are a lot of things I wish I could take with me back home. A fist full of
jasmine, and all of you! For ten months, I’ve been stretched, blessed, and felt incredible love from the Good Shepherd community, and I wanted my first and final newsletter article to be an overdose of thanks!-A double-overhead thank you goes to Pastor Bob for his supervision, surfing, support, prayers of encouragement, and belief in me during those times when I wondered what the heck God had in mind for me. We met weekly for the last ten months, and I was blessed to learn from someone I truly admire. My first real mentor!
-My “CA Parents,” Bill and Jane Long graciously welcomed me into their home during my visit. They prepared a beautiful room, tortured me with their cat J, gave me kitchen privileges with no restrictions (I owe them lots of ice cream and milk), and treated me like family.-The Intern Task Force (Mark, Camille, Greg, Sue, Kristin, Peter, & Michael) were forced to sit through every sermon this year. Wow, what dedication! Thanks for your fair evaluations and for giving me an outlet to work through the trials and triumphs of ministry.
-Who wants to go home and eat alone? Not I! Thanks to all who welcomed me into their homes, or took me to their favorite hangout/restaurant. My favorite evenings in Torrance were spent getting
to know the people of GS on a more personal level. If you know that I like ice in my milk, you know this thank you is especially for you!-Working in a church would be lame if not for an awesome staff! If I ever needed help, had a question, or ran out of steam, the gifted GS staff jumped in and helped! Not to mention all the incredible young adults who really stepped out in faith with me as their new leader and became my closest friends.
-I have to be sure to thank anyone who ever gave me a hug, offered a word
of encouragement, laughed at my random mannerisms, sent me a card, or called to check in. These little gestures kept my love thank full. Thank you!-To the anonymous donor who paid to have my car fixed before I leave for Minnesota—who are you? J At this time in my life, with many things to pay for, what a huge blessing to not get set back financially by a few repairs. From VW and me, thank you so very much!!
Well, I have had a lump in my throat for the last 2 weeks straight, and my eyes are welling even as I write this. So many people to thank, and one intern who has been touched forever. My intern friends are scattered all over the country doing ministry in all sorts of contexts, and
they’re all in agreement: my internship has been the best site. Ever! I would agree with them. God has been so good to me this year, and I pray God’s rich blessing for all of you in the days ahead.My office is finally getting a little packed up. I managed to accumulate two boxes of books while I was here. After packing up a few boxes at home as well, I headed over to the Rognlien’s house for our staff farewell party. Everyone came out for a great night of slacklining, food, burned steaks, and Amber time! Lisa Such brought adorable cupcakes, and Lisa Strom brought longboard chips from Trader Joe's. All the staff kids joined in on the fun and brought a lot of energy to the night. As a going away present, the staff presented me with
my very own 6 foot surfboard that they signed. They also got me a Becker Surfboard t-shirt, surf wax, stickers, a beach bag, and a sun hat! I’m going to look so out of context when I go back to Lake Okabena with all this stuff on. Toward the end of the night, everyone gathered around and shared some of their favorite Amber memories. I was hoping they’d forget the really embarrassing stuff, but no such luck. More prayers from everyone, more tears, and back home I went. I hope it gets easier once Kevin gets here. All these goodbyes and prayer times are getting harder and harder. 
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