Nearly there...and our adventures, pt. 2

Now, for part 2 of what we have been up too.

Most recently, we all travelled down to Harrisburg, PA to see our Father Confessor. We were able to visit with him for bit. We also got to see Fr. Stephen Vernak and his family. It was a bit of a “breather” day trip and we are so thankful for it! We ventured to downtown Harrisburg and went to...Agia Sophia Coffee house! Yep, that's right, there are two: one in Colorado Springs and one in Harrisburg. I had a cup of Joe and enjoyed the atmosphere.

 

Agia Sophia Storefront

Agia Sophia signage

For Lunch we headed down to Carlisle, PA and found a neat little vegan cafe, Gaia. They had some really tasty food. I had a veggie plate with bean dip. For a little treat we had an Espresso Chocolate chip cookie and almond bar. For the boys, a spelt blueberry muffin. All really tasty. On the way in we saw signs for an Army museum. It was a beautiful day out 70 degrees and sunny! We decided to take a visit to the Army museum on the way back home. We were glad we did and the boys had a blast. The museum itself has four stellar indoor exhibits, but the most enjoyable part was the several acre outdoor exhibit: underground trenches, in-hill trenches, tanks, watch towers, bunkers, helicopters, barracks. This museum is not just for the recent military, but from the Civil War until present time.  

Gaia Cafe, Carlisle, PA

Left: Blueberry Muffins; Middle: Espresso cookie; Right: Almond bar

Inside of Gaia

A tank greeted us as we arrived at the Army Museum

 

The boys, in the trenches

Underground

A bunker replica

We all had a great day and were very thankful for a bit of family time and time out.  It's really great to have days like this every now and again. Please remember to keep us in your prayers and also, we are happy to remember your prayer requests. Thanks!

The Baldwins

Nearly there...and other adventures, pt. 1

Please forgive me for not posting more frequently. We are very close to the finish here at St. Tikhon's. The weather has been up and down, but Thank God, we have had some really nice, warm days. Spring teasers! Since the last post, I visited the Old Rite Parish (ROCOR) in Erie, I visited the community of Holy Theophany in Colorado Springs, we journeyed half-way through Lent, and I visited Harrisburg, PA to see my Father Confessor. So, a lot has happened!

Of course, time at seminary has been quite a whirlwind and with all that we have been doing, it has spun by so very quickly. Also, with Baby Baldwin on the way, we are in hyper-mode to get things around the house prepared. We are very excited for the arrival of our newest little one. Veronika and I and the midwife (and several others) are pretty sure Baby Baldwin will be here sooner than expected, before the due date of April 22. Thank God for all things.

On to the visit to Erie. The Church of the Nativity was founded by a group of Old Believers many years ago. The nastovnik, who grew up in the community, would later become Fr. Pimen Simon. They were priestless and then he realized they needed the Holy Eucharist. He found priesthood and canonical communion, leading the parish into the Russian Church Abroad. Though the services (which are in no way abbreviated ever) are Old Rite, the entire liturgical corpus, including hymnody, for worship was translated into English (though they still use some Slavonic).

I travelled up to Erie with a friend of mine, an older gentleman. He had lived with and taught the Old Believers in Woodburn, OR. We left Saturday morning. We attended Vigil that night. I knew this service would be long. It was beautiful. The Church is magnificent. Truly prayerful worship! We were invited over to Fr. Pimen's house, the Rectory, next door. The Vigil had begun at 4:45. As we walked out of the Church, I checked my phone to see if I had messages from my wife. The time was 9:05! I couldn't believe we had been in Church for nearly 4 and a half hours! The service was so full of Grace and Life, with prayer, that I hardly noticed it had been that long. What a blessing. We attended Divine Liturgy the next Day. The community was warm and welcoming, full of prayer. Before we departed to return home, we were shown the bookstore and community hall. I was able to get a lestovka, poyas, and a few books. It was a memorable visit, one that I will always cherish. I pray I am able to return for another visit one day.

The very next weekend, I was off to Colorado Springs to meet the Parish community of Holy Theophany. The priest is Fr. Anthony Karbo. The new temple is stunning. The parish community truly warm and welcoming. I was blessed to attend services Friday (Pre-sanctified Liturgy), Saturday (Memorial Saturday Liturgy and Vespers) and Sunday (Divine Liturgy and Mission [Pan Orthodox] Vespers [in Pueblo]). I gave the homily Sunday at Divine Liturgy and that evening at the Vespers service. I was able to meet with all the clergy in area. I even got to see Fr. Zechariah and his family in Pueblo (friends of ours; he was here our first year of Seminary). During the visit to the Springs, I was able to see Agia Sophia Coffee House, Pike's peak, and meet and visit with a lot of wonderful people. It was a blessing! Veronika will be visiting them in May.

 A view of Colorado Springs

 Near the top of Pike's Peak: we are up to about 13,500 ft

 Holy Theophany

 Inside Holy Theophany

A Pueblo Sunset, outside the Greek Orthodox Church

The visit was such a blessing, but since I was traveling without the boys and Veronika, I was really happy to get back to see them. There is a lot more to tell in part 2, Check out the rest of the story!