I had a really full second half of last week! Lots of picture in this update.
Last weekend, I got to spend some really good quality time with Emma and Ian.
Meet Emma and Ian:
Emma does not live at the AO, but she only lives a 2 minute bike ride away. She’s originally from Spokane, Washington and moved here when she was hired at First Presbyterian Church to used to worship lead 6 years ago. In other words: she’s my predecessor at the church. She worship directed at FPC for five years and completed her MA in Clinical Counseling during the last couple years of her time there. She now works full time as a therapist! She has a cat that roams our neighborhood and keeps the peace. She is also very funny and is a Facebook Marketplace warrior.
Ian is the other program director here at the AO. He also graduated from seminary this spring. He and I have similar glasses and tastes in movies. He substitute teaches at several different schools here in Missoula (including the Catholic one) and is working at the amphitheater this summer. He is originally from Yakima, Washington and moved to Missoula to live and work at the AO house while he finished seminary online. Ian is also very funny and knows every song Kesha has ever released.
This is Emma and Ian! I asked them if they wanted to be introduced officially on the blog and they said yes and that they will love their inevitable fans.
Emma, Ian, and I went to yoga on Friday afternoon, which turned into us walking around downtown and enjoying the Missoula First Friday festivities. First Friday is always the first Friday of the month and it basically means that all the businesses are open, food is abundant, and drinks are flowing. There were also several bands busking downtown which was really fun to hear.
I tried a couple local burger spots (as in, I had two burgers lol) and got a drink at the Dram shop for the first time! I got a very sweet, honey IPA and it was so yummy. The Dram shop reminded me of OBC a little bit, you can bring food in from anywhere and just hang out and have a beer. It was nice to find a place like that out here!
Our view coming out of yoga… there’s a full jazz band under that tent!
The Dram shop ft. Ian’s empty burger bag, Emma’s pizza, and the beers Ian and I tried.
The next day on Saturday, the three of us met up and walked to the farmers market. I got flowers, an abundance of baked goods, and some arugula. Then we went down to the river and enjoyed some honey lemonade and discovered that none of us had plans for our Saturdays! So we decided to take a trip up to Flathead lake.
Honey lemonade with basil by the Clark Fork River
The flowers I got from the farmer’s market. I am obsessed with these!!
Flathead Lake
We left around noon to make the 90 minute drive to Flathead. It was really fun to see parts of Montana I haven’t seen yet! Flathead is north west of Missoula, so I truly had not seen any of the road we covered on the way there. It was a pretty drive but I’m sure it’s more beautiful when it isn’t the height of wildfire season. I’m sure most of you have heard about the wildfires in Spokane… lots of people here are related to or friends with people who have been displaced. Devastating! Please be in prayer for those who have lost their homes. There are a few fires on the west side of Montana as well, but nothing that is at all threatening to Missoula.
This is what a lot of our drive looked like. You could see the shape of the mountains but couldn’t quite make out any details. I don’t know if you can see it in the picture, but in person I could spot the shine of a couple snowcaps still on this range.
I also got to see an animal bridge on the drive! This is a wide, grassy bridge that crosses over the highway and allows animals to access the forest without going into traffic. It was really cool! No animal sightings though.
Once we made it to Flathead we did a lot of swimming, jumping off the dock, and reading in the sun. It was GLORIOUS to swim in a lake again. The river is awesome and I love it but the current freaks me out so I always stay where I can touch. Flathead Lake on the other hand gets deep FAST and was very still, so I got to enjoy just floating and soaking in the sun.
I thought that I was going to be disappointed with Flathead Lake because, seriously, what could possibly compare with Lake Michigan? But I really did fall in love with this lake. The beach was all rocks, and so was the floor of the lake which was so fun. Also, the water was so clear!! You could see straight to the bottom.
This was the view from our chairs. Again, all the mountains in the distance are covered in smoke. But the way they looked on Saturday reminded me of Sleeping Bear Dunes on Glen Lake! That was kind of sweet.
This is what the lake looked like as you walked in. The water is only a couple inches deep here but this shows how clear the water is!
Me in the lake, hi everyone. 👍🏼
On the way home from the lake, we stopped at a Mexican restaurant and got food and margs. Afterwards, we stopped at a little drive through burger place and got milkshakes. It was a dreamy day, and easily my best day in Montana so far. I’m thankful to get to share it with you all!
Prayer requests
- Please be in prayer for students moving into the AO. We’re going to have so much fun but of course, any move brings up lots of feelings.
- I got my Montana license this past week! Next up is transferring my title and registration which is confusing me a little bit. I’m hoping to tackle that either this week or next. I would appreciate prayers.
- Pest control has visited the AO! I don’t know what the report is but please pray that the mouse issue gets under control quickly from this point on.
- I am preaching my first sermon at FPC this coming Sunday (8/16). If you’d like to watch, the service streams at 11:30 AM EST here. Please pray that I deliver God’s message well!
As always, I love you all very much. Thanks for checking in on me every week.❤️
Love, Allison
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