Kris and I had a restful weekend in Bellingham, Washington, as we were hosted by The Firs for a weekend retreat on the Jesus Creed. Gorgeous trees — tall Douglas Firs everywhere — and both the culture and climate of the Pac NW. Kris remarked several times that, because Darrel Smith purposefully scheduled in free afternoons, we were able not only to do the teaching and conversing part, but also some relaxation. We came away refreshed.
I did five sessions … but this time I wrapped all of our sessions into the theme of individualism and showed how a missional life, the Jesus Creed, the life of Mary, the gospel itself, and the kingdom vision of Jesus could never stop with individual salvation. Each of these themes leads us to the church, to the local church, and to God’s people as the place of God’s work on earth.
We met many wonderful people, and I can’t mention names without fear of leaving someone out, but we must mention our time with Darrel and Stacy Smith. Darrel was our weekend coordinator and they drove us down to the airport Sunday morning as they made their way to Canon Beach in Oregon. And on Saturday afternoon we were able to spend time with Dan and Corey Boehlje. Dan was a student at NPU — a very good one I might add — and Corey, after graduating from a certain West Coast school that sits atop lovely hills just outside Santa Barbara, worked in our communication department at the college. We got to meet their young son, Mark, and had a great time with them drinking Woods coffee on the waterfront.
Darrel Smith

Dan and Corey Boehlje