Getting to know the Townfolk...

Halfway, Oregon
Volume 2

I was greeted at the door of church this week - greeted by name - by the sweetest 9 year old you ever saw. He had remembered my name from clinic - where his little brother had his face stitched up following a harrowing bicycle accident. He grabbed my hand and introduced me to those looking on - as “my friend Katie, she works at the clinic”. I was invited by his family to join them in their pew in the front row - what an honor.

After church - I crossed the street to one of "the other churches” in town to have lunch with some of its members and visiting missionaries. During the meal at the local tavern (the only restaurant open every day of the week) I was already being recruited along with my absent and unsuspecting husband to be the next newest residents of Halfway. Well…let’s hold on a moment and think this over…

You know your're in Halfway, or the nearby towns when there's donkeys for sale at Safway...

or in the breakroom at the clinic there's a calendar that says, "...did you know that 'Select Sires' offers semen from a wide variety of beef breeds ....getting the most out of your reprduction program is essential ...."

Did you know that to breed a new colt - for your horse to have happy relations and reproduce with a male horse that belongs to someone else - there is a FEE?? You actually have to pay money - a lot of money - to let your horse do it's duty with another. Isn't that called.....
oh ... I'm such a city girl.

The other night I got to don a well worn leather jacket, black leather gloves, large eye shields and a tight black riding helmet. Then I swung my leg over a deep red Harley Davidson. I’d been graciously invited and encouraged to join my preceptor in various extra-curricular activities and a recent one involved "riding" to dinner down the Snake River canyon. (I'll post pictures of me in leathers someday soon....)

The thunder and lightening have kept me awake more than one night - and what a thrill it is to watch the big steel grey clouds march across the sky bringing gusty winds and bright lightening and big fat rain drops. The smell is amazing when the drops join the thick green grass, hay and rich dirt of this valley and create a humid brew that smells of life.

I have - against much resistance - shifted into first gear. Life has slowed to include the basics like studying, cooking, reading, running, writing and long talks on the phone.
It’s a joy to discover the pleasure of good books, reconnecting with folks, listening to my heart and trying to decipher the Lord’s still small voice...even in this faraway land...