Three days and counting :)

Hello everyone! I have now finished day three in Saint Paul! On Friday, the day we arrived, we didn’t venture too far out. We managed to find the closest Wal Mart and bought some bedding so that we stayed warm that night and came home to rest.

Saturday we went to the biggest Ikea I’ve ever seen (okay, well, it’s only the second one I’ve been to, but it’s right next to the Mall of America, so everything is big in that area). I was so exhausted by the end of the day! We probably spent a good 4-5 hours at Ikea, checking out all sorts of furniture for the apartment. And we were very successful! We were able to get a really nice dining room table (with folding chairs for now, which are actually pretty good, despite their cheap price). I was able to find a bed, mattress, and matching drawers that, though simple, I really like.

We managed to get everything into the Subaru, which is just a miracle, and still have room for all three of us. When we got home, I was dead to the world. I mean, I dislike shopping in general because it just wears me out. And this Ikea was pretty darn full of people. But I was very happy with how productive we were. Colin immediately started to assemble our table while Shelly and I put together a pretty tasty goulash. So here is a picture of our official first meal at our table (we have it extended out, but the second picture shows that the side wings actually slide underneath to make it a nice square the rest of the time):


Today (Sunday) we were able to do a couple things with the Baha’i community in this area. In the afternoon we went to a reflection meeting (a gathering of Baha’is from the region that discuss plans for developing the Faith in that region, making plans for activities and such and then reflecting on things we’ve done in the past little while, a sort of “check-in” so to speak). It was great because I got to meet tons of people, and the meeting itself was a lot of fun. This evening Colin and I went to a devotional meeting, where people gather to say prayers. It was mostly youth, and the atmosphere was really nice (it was actually at student housing on the University of Minnesota campus). So it was a great day! We’ve finished assembling the furniture for my room, and once I get everything moved in I’ll post a picture.

I miss Alaska terribly, but the good news is that in many ways Minnesota feels a lot like the feeling of Alaska. Maybe it’s the cold that keeps the people good ☺

Bye for now!