Coming Down the Home Stretch.

I went for a run yesterday, about 7 to 8 km out to the main highway and back. It was cold on the way out and chilly on the way back and I developed a nice frost beard and mustache. As I was coming down the home stretch back to Skalholt I really took some time to look around at my surroundings. I thought to myself, "Really, this landscape isn't too much different from running through the high deserts of Wyoming, minus the sage and replacing the granite with volcanic rock." I felt like I was at least close to home.

I do this a lot I think, comparing my current environment to something I'm somewhat familiar with. I don't know whether it is a good thing or a bad thing, it just is. I find some comfort with the environment that is familiar and so then find it easier to cope. As we were coming into Skalholt I thought of Outlaw Ranch, a camp and retreat center in Custer, SD that I've had a part in the past year and a half. I have thought that what is happening here with the retreats and academies, and especially the pastor's gathering, is not at all different from the things that may go on at Outlaw.

And though this is a good thing, it provides me comfort I know that what is going on here is very much different. Skalholt is an ancient place. It is holy, (though I consider Outlaw holy as well), and has been conducting the activities of the Icelandic Church, including a school, since the church has been in Iceland, since 1,000 A.D. and up until recently (relatively speaking, 150 years ago) has held one of the two bishoprics of Iceland.

So even with these familiar environments and situations, I am reminded that this is a Cross Cultural Experience. It is important for me to expect and look for these differences while still being able to hold them in conversation with each other. Though I feel very much at home here, I am reminded constantly that I am in a foreign place and vice versa.

God, we thank You for our hospitable hosts here at Skalholt and throughout Iceland who have helped to make the transition here comfortable. We thank You for all that we have learned here about the Church in Iceland as we learn more about Your Church Universal. We ask for Your continued presence with us on this excursion. Amen.