Jewish Studies.

Well, last week in our study of the Old Testament, we brought in a guest teacher to help us brush up on our knowledge of Jewish studies. It was fairly enlightening how knowing the culture of the time really helps you better interpret the traditions of the people of that era. For instance, we discussed the translation of the word law, a word our culture associates with judge. Definitely a word with a few negative connotations. However, the meaning of the Hebrew word is more aligned with, "Loving guidance of a compassionate father." I like that so much more. The Romans chose the word "law" because in the Roman culture of the time, the people loved the Roman law. Thus they thought it'd be fitting. This view of the law, or Torah, brings the character of God into a slightly new, and more glowing light.

We had our second and third groups come in this weekend. A JR. High group at the farm, and then a senior citizens group down at the Linck Hill Inn. Both groups were larger than the capacity of the location, which made for a very busy and tiring weekend. I took like a million hour nap today after the group left. LHI was particularly tiring because you have to serve each person individually like a restaurant, where as at the farm, it's just a buffet line the kids go through. It was a good change of pace though, and I enjoyed it. This week Field trips start, which means we'll be even busier than ever. For field trips, each of the interns is paired up and placed at a post. The pairs then switch off, one person doing one day, then the other person doing the next. Except me. I'm the only one assigned to turkey presentation duty (which I mentioned in my last post,) which means I'm on for every field trip.

Let me quickly run through this weeks schedule, just so you get an idea. Monday morning we have off, because we are coming off a full weekend of retreats. Tuesday and Friday we have field trips coming in the morning, and a retreat coming in Wednesday morning and staying until Thursday. Then another retreat coming in this weekend. On top of all this, we have cleaning days, daily chores, work projects, and three hours of class everyday to fit in. I'm getting tired just thinking about it.

Well, in the spirit of being busy, I need to go work on my Turkey presentation so that it's ready for Tuesday.

Cheers