From the Central Midwest to the Upper East Side

Me, Stef and Ady

     My name is Steven Neal. I'm a first year M. Div student hailing from a small town outside of Kansas City, Kansas, the land of wheat and the world's largest ball of yarn. My wife and our little 2 year old girl Adelyn are with me in Dubuque and we're excited to call it home for a bit. To the immediate left is a photo from Halloween 2012, Ady's first Halloween. It's probably the most adorable photo I've ever been a part of. We're sad to say goodbye for 2 weeks! But I go with their blessings and support.

     As I said, I grew up in Kansas and I did my Bachelor's degree at Hastings College in Nebraska, studying Religious Studies and Political Science. I'm keenly interested in the intersection of social- and governmental-politics and faith. Aside from academics, I enjoy watching Elmo with my wife and daughter, staying up to date with the latest in technology news, reading sci-fi / high fantasy, dabbling, babbling and scrabbling. Just kidding. I'm horrible at Scrabble. My wife is an artist, I am not. My daughter is a dancer, I am not. I am excellent at shoveling snow, they are... almost as good as I am.

     I'm excited to travel and learn, see and experience new things in Iceland. As a college student, I was fortunate to travel all over the United States and live in Mexico for a summer, but I have never crossed an ocean! I am eager to learn from my Icelandic brothers and sisters, to talk and share in our faith and love of Jesus together. I am from an ecumenical background, moving from a Methodist church as a child to a Nazarene church then finding myself at home with the Lutheran church. I'm excited to learn about the diversity of practical ministry as well as to worship in a different context.

     Loving God, I thank you for the opportunity to cross borders and share a bit of life with your people. Thank you for your diversity. Thank you for the people that love and support us. Thank you for friendship. Bless us on this journey together. Amen.