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Dear Beloveds, This coming Tuesday, June 6th, I will be back in the office after my sabbatical journey! I look forward to being back at home and with all of you. My time away has been an incredible blessing, and I have learned so much in such a short period of time. I can’t wait to share with you all that God has taught me and continues to teach me during my time away. For my sabbatical, I chose to serve on a farm at an abbey in the middle of the countryside in France. (It is truly in the middle of nowhere, the closest little village is quite a walk away and does not even have a restaurant or market!) I was open to whatever God had planned for me and welcomed the opportunity to serve in any way. What I found at this faithful community is a truly unique and devoted group of believers who have wholeheartedly given their lives to God in serving others and one another. The work on the farm was hard, the days beginning with morning prayer, work, then pausing for mid day worship, lunch, work again, and then worship again before and sometimes after dinner. Days on the farm are filled with different tasks, from herding and milking cows, to making cheese, tending the apple orchard, kitchen work, and general heavy duty cleaning and farm work. The entire community works en corps— together as a body— to accomplish everything. I have not worked this hard at doing pure manual labor in a long time, and I appreciated each task, and what God was teaching me as I did it. I go to bed each day completely exhausted, body aching, blisters and cuts abounding, but heart and soul singing and giving thanks. I have also learned so much from the brothers and sisters who live in this community, most of them as celibates and some of them as married families. Each has a role and meaningful part of the community at the abbey, and love each other daily through their work and labor together. In the coming weeks, I am excited to share with you all that my heart has learned and taken in. I truly have cherished my time here at the abbey, and I hope to come again soon for a study week next year to work, learn, and labor alongside these faithful folks again and again. I feel that I have made lifetime friendships and know that through this experience, God has changed my heart forever. Thank you for all your prayers and love for me during this time. I can’t wait to see you! With great love for you, Pastor Grace
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