August - A Month in the Life of a Seminarian
Philip Mayer
"Where could she be?" I asked myself while glancing at the clock which
read in bold digital letters: 3:30 am. We had made it safely to
Nashotah, Wisconsin, barely moved into our new apartment and now my
wife was missing. Quite the scare, as I experienced it. Earlier that
evening we had joined the seminary community for a Texas style
barbeque. Toward the end of the night only about a dozen people were
left, sitting around a bonfire. I left to go to bed, but Melissa
stayed. I woke up a few hours later and noticed that she still wasn't
by my side.
I looked out the window to the field where the fire had been. Nothing.
I looked in the bathroom and then downstairs in the living room. I
began calling her on my nearly signal-less cell phone. Nothing, no
answer. My stomach was now feeling tight, as I wondered what possibly
could have happened to her.
I called my voice mail to see if she had left a message and sure
enough, I hear: "Hello Babe, it's 1:30 am and I'm locked out of the
house." "Locked out of the house?" I thought to myself, "We never lock
the door. Did she go to the wrong door since all of the apartments are
identical?" (I later discovered that when I swung the door open
earlier, it had smacked up against the wall, pushing the button which
locks the door, unbeknownst to me).
Though I still didn't know where she was, I assumed that a neighbor
took her in. My mind began to whir. "What is Melissa thinking of me?
What are all of the folks at the bonfire thinking about me, a husband
who locks his wife out of the house?" I walked into the bathroom and
noticed her cell phone lying on the floor. "That's why she isn't
answering." I thought as I picked up the pink phone and flipped it
open. I called back the most recent missed call. A woman answered the
phone with a voice that sounded as if she was trying to be very quiet.
"Is this my wife?" I asked. It was and a few minutes later she was
home from our neighbor's apartment. We were both happy to see each
other.
While I was sleeping she had tried everything to get into the
apartment. Even walking around back and attempting to climb onto our
overhanging deck which was a good seven feet off of the ground. She
borrowed a step ladder from one of the woman at the bonfire, climbed
up, grabbed the rails and managed to pull herself over. As you know,
Melissa wouldn't exactly describe herself as an athletic or agile
person and she was very proud that she was able to accomplish this
James Bond like maneuvering, all while wearing a dress. Mixed with
laughter, it was a great bonding moment for them. Yet, the patio door
too, was locked. Now, how was she to get down? "I guess you'll have to
jump" the woman said. And so, with great fear, that's what she did.
Eventually, after all attempts failed she ended up sleeping on the
woman's couch until we reconnected at 3:30 am. Neither of us obtained
much sleep that night, though it was a fun adventure to share with
everyone the following morning.
OUR CROSS COUNTRY TRIP (plus a few zigzags)
All else is going well. Our over packed car brought us safely out of
New England, across the country, all of the way to the cheese state.
During our journey we stayed with folks in three separate states.
First with some friends in New York who had just had a baby, then
camping with my family, followed by a two night jaunt in Detroit with
Melissa's sister. Next we flew to Florida for a surprise party for
Melissa's mom; back to Michigan for a few more days, a go-away party
and then on the road to Wisconsin, well except for a stop in Chicago
to have lunch with my brother. Finally we arrived at Nashotah,
Wisconsin and followed the signs to Nashotah House Theological
Seminary. We had reached our destination.
SETTLING IN
The past few weeks have been full of orientation sessions, unpacking
boxes, and new classes however we are very excited about how welcoming
and friendly everyone has been. Most folks spend a good deal of time
outdoors: sitting on lawn chairs, watching children, and bonfires
nearly every night. On Sunday Melissa and I decided to walk across the
campus to join in on a softball game to which we had been invited. The
walk would normally have taken about ten minutes, but our stops to say
hi to folks along the way extended our journey to half an hour. We
feel very blessed by God to have been led to this community of
believers and we are excited about our time here.