The last day of the Winter trimester (March 29th) came like a flash - seemed like only a few days before that we had joined together. My brother Caleb (Calgary, AB) revealed to the interns that he was not returning for the next trimester, which came across as a total surprise to all. Interns had been asking me about Caleb for the last few weeks, but due to his request I avoided giving any direct answer.
The interns on the pitch
At the wrap-up party they played a long slideshow of different photos from the winter trimester and from the fall trimester (the trimester I missed). Dance music was played as some of us randomly jived to the beat, including the infamous Hokey Pokey song.
Because of Caleb's decision to return home to Calgary, I went home with him to visit Calgary for a week. This unique situation allowed me to majorly surprise one of my good friends (Melanie) back home in Calgary. She hosts board game nights on occasion, and she scheduled the first one of the year for March 30th. Before I knew I was coming home for the trimester break, Melanie jokingly asked me to fly home and attend her games night, so I said I couldn't because it was too much money. When Caleb told me he wasn't returning to New Hampshire for the next trimester, I found out Mom & Dad would pay for my flight home and back, and I never told Melanie of the change in the plans. I had Mom drive me and Caleb up to her house, and then had Mom go to Melanie's door, where Mom claimed that "Jesse knew you were having a games night and asked me to bring something for you, but you have to come and get it!" The expression on Melanie's face and her reaction when she saw me and Caleb at the end of the driveway was one I'll definitely not forget - the night was absolutely special! We played a variety of games, including ImaginIFF (great party game). It was a great way to launch my week back in Calgary.
Saturday I worked at landscaping with Mom to earn money to help pay for my next trimester in New Hampshire. I then met Rachelle Nicholson (who might as well be my lil sis) at Bonavista Baptist Church after their Saturday night service and joined the BBC crew for a late dinner and chat at Santa Fe Bar & Grill. It turned out to be the last day I would see any form of good weather in Calgary; by the time the sun went down, snow was starting to fall!
I thought it would be amusing to just randomly show up at my home church (SunWest Christian Fellowship) on Sunday after being away for 3 months. I was right - I enjoyed watching some of the reactions from different people when I ran into them. More than that though, I was shocked at how much pastor Willy Reimer's sermons have changed. He has obviously done a lot of digging and probing into different materials to gain new insight. The message he spoke on (regarding foot washing and applying lessons learned from it to today) had content one would never expect to hear in a Mennonite church. The Bridge church in New Hampshire still feels the most like church as I think it should be, but I am definitely liking the directions Willy is clearly starting to explore at SunWest.
Caleb's new occupation post-internship
The week in Calgary was great, but oddly it didn't feel much like home. I think that's a sign that I need to be in New Hampshire right now, as it feels the most like where I need to be. When I finally got back here, the joy returned - I was immediately entertained by the random crew of interns that came to the airport to pick me up.
Upon arriving at the Yellow House, I got to meet two of the new interns for this trimester: Kaylene Spresny (Michigan) and James Kyllonen (Michigan), both friends of Chad Seymour (Michigan) and Jesse Smith (Michigan). They're cool cats and will be a great fit. These next 3 months are gonna rock!
Dave Carpentier (Boston, MA) "calling" someone
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