Banff

Sheena and I spent last weekend in Banff, Alberta.

We were at a conference for pastors.

We had a good time.

Thank You.

- - -

Did you ever write reports like that?

The above is all true, and now I'm working through how to report what happened to the church board who paid for Sheena and I to attend. We had a great time. But that should be a given considering the two major factors in the weekend. 1. It was in Banff* 2. It was all paid for by the church.

In school I probably wrote reports similar to the first three lines of this post. Simple. To the point. Reports.

That may be fine when you're six, but at 31 people expect more.

Also, I expect more.

So here are some of the highlights:

We considered every imaginable way to get to Banff except the train and bus.** So basically we considered driving and flying. We decided we wanted to drive then considered a rental. In the end we took our car. And we're glad we did. It was a wonderful drive. It was supposed to take six and a half hours. I got there in a speedy seven.

We often fantasize about living and pastoring in a small town. Now we've heard stories about having to drive 45 minutes for milk and have a greater appreciation for where we live.

Thank you Tony Roma's buffet, I gained three pounds: three pounds of meat and animal fat. Tasty.

Makiah had a holiday of her own at Chez Bessy. Friends took her in so we could talk about other things than "the potty," "ray-rays" and "eeze."  While we didn't miss Makiah as much as we thought, we still talked about potties and ray-rays. And while she was excited to see us when we got home, when I dropped her off there today because Sheena and I are both working, she got super excited to be back.

The weekend provided us, relative newbies to the NAB, with better insight into what's going in the our conference of churches. We now have some faces to the names, and a better understanding of where things are.

And finally, the sessions were short, to the point, meaningful, and few. All that translates into a lot of free time to hang out with Sheena, poke in shops, and soak in the hot springs. It was great.


* If you've never been to Banff this might not be obvious. Here are some things you should know: it's gorgeous, even without a car you can see great sights, it's a wonderful place to relax, there are several incredible candy shops.

** Seriously, who considers the bus? I mean, when was the last time you heard someone say: "So I'm taking the buss..." and thought wow, I bet they'll enjoy that trip, get there refreshed, and have a lovely journey. No, you're thinking really? the bus? are they that broke? were the flights all full? can I loan them my car? I sure hope they don't get stabbed.