Debbie and I drove into Connecticut about noon on Monday and saw evidence of the snow bomb that went off across the state while we were away. Wow! We had been keeping track of the storm via internet, e-mails, and phone calls, but nothing prepared us for the devastation we encountered upon our return. We walked through our neighborhood and chatted with neighbors who were very happy to have some uninitiated with whom to share their personal storm survival stories.

I can't say I am sorry we missed the storm, but it was strange to be away from the action when so much was going on around here.

Anyway, we have stories of our own journey to share in coming weeks.

First the raw data. We travelled over 11,000 miles and drove through 26 states. That necessitated 3 oil changes along the way, but thankfully no other vehicle issues. We visited 7 national parks (Theodore Roosevelt, Yellowstone, Grand Tetons, Crater Lake, Redwoods, Zion and Bryce Canyon) in the course of our travels. We visited several family members, my mentor from seminary, a friend from our first church now in pastoral ministry, and the Norton family from Wellspring who are on assignment in Nashville. We spent six weeks in California, immersing ourselves in the life and culture of Bethel Church in Redding. We took advantage of three conferences hosted by the church during our weeks there, featuring revival leaders from Argentina (Claudio Freidzen), Canada (John and Carol Arnott) and the Bethel family. We met many amazing people while at Bethel. Most importantly, we consistently encountered the presence of God in that house of revival.

On our last day in Redding we had breakfast after church with Steve and Wendy Backlund, who are on staff at Bethel and who have been here to Wellspring on two occasions. Steve asked us what were our biggest 'take-aways' from our time there. I answered for my own experience with two big blessings. First, I experienced significant rest, refreshment and deep renewal during this time away. The six months prior to our departure were some of the most difficult of my entire ministry and fatigue and emotional stress were very much with me upon our leave-taking from Connecticut. Secondly, both Debbie and I came away from our time at Bethel with the clear conviction that there is a whole lot MORE to the reality of the Kingdom of God than we had ever before imagined. We heard testimonies and experienced encounters with the power and presence of the Kingdom that have definitely stretched our capacity to believe, hope, dream and seek. We look forward to sharing many of these stories with you in the days to come.

For now we are glad to be back home. On the agenda tomorrow at Thanksgiving will be gratitude for our amazing adventures on this sabbatical and for a great community of believers to return home to and with whom we can share the greatest adventure of all as we seek first this thing called the Kingdom of God.

Pastor Rick