Dear family and friends,
It is late November as we write this. Outside our window, it is snowing heavily. Last Tuesday, 20” of snow fell upon Holden Village, wrapping us in our white, winter blanket for the next five months. Tonight we expect another 10” to fall! We have adapted to life in the snow quite well. Last winter, Brennan skied nearly every day after work, and Tara took up snowshoeing. Cold weather is also conducive to hot cups of coffee, knitting, and long conversations with friends. As the days grow shorter, darker and colder, and as the church calendar begins anew with Advent, we look back on the light of 2011 with gratefulness.
Last February we decided to serve for another year at Holden Village, a Lutheran retreat center in the North Cascades of Washington State. Brennan is the Utilities Lead, overseeing the power, water, and heat functions in the village, and Tara is the Crafts Coordinator, teaching a variety of classes in weaving, paper crafts, sewing, and fiber arts. Each day brings a new adventure in these jobs! Our spare time is spent hiking, reading, and home brewing. We currently have three batches of homebrew in progress: Oatmeal Stout, mead (honey wine), and a doppelbock called “The Holdenator”. We have also enjoyed a few trips out of the village, including a road trip with friends to Arches, Bryce, Zion, and Grand Canyon National Parks. This spring, Brennan participated in the downhill ski leg of Ski to Sea, a relay from Mt. Baker to Bellingham Bay. Another important part of our year was our “daughter’s” graduation from Holden High School. Confused? Let us explain. For the 2011-2012 school year, we were host family to Alisha, a senior boarding student from Minnesota. She quickly became part of our family. Her graduation in June was a joyous time, but it was very difficult to say goodbye. Many of our friends and family have visited us at Holden this past year as well. It has been a blessing to share with them this place that has become such a part of us.
Now we are looking ahead to what’s after Holden when our term here ends in July. We are applying to teach internationally for the 2012-2013 school year. For those of our friends who share our faith, Advent is a time of waiting and listening. And so this December, as we wait and listen, update our resumes and apply, we trust that we will go out from Holden with good courage no matter where our next steps lead. Emmanuel has come: God is with us.
May peace be with you and yours this Christmas and into the year to come.
Love, Tara and Brennan
