Preparing to Depart

Prayers were offered today for the continuation of my travels tomorrow morning.  I leave the monastery here early tomorrow morning for Philadelphia, where I will catch a flight to Santa Fe, New Mexico.  The monks of the Monastery of the Archangel Michael will come down from Canones, NM to pick me up and take me back for my 11-day stay with them.  While I am looking forward to the next leg of my pilgrimage, I will miss the brotherhood here.  It has been a joy to spend these last two weeks as a member of their community, worshipping with them, eating with them, working with them, getting to know them. I will especially miss the abbot, Fr. Sergius, who has been so kind and generous to me--he has given me so much.  I asked him for a word to take on my journey; he paused and apologized for not having anything very spiritual, but said, "Pray and follow your heart, trusting that God is guiding you...and come back soon."  Perhaps I will.

Candle-making 101

With the loss of their candle-maker, the monastery is in the process of transition with their candle production--but the orders keep coming in.  Yesterday, they got an 80 lb. order, which promises to keep me busy until my departure.  Not being experienced enough to do the dipping of the candles, I am given the task of stringing the racks and cutting the candles.  The first step in the process involves wrapping a notched metal frame with cotton wicking, here is a picture of a frame ready to be dipped in the vat of melted beeswax:

The frames are dipped successively until desire thickness is reached and the candles are cut away and sent to cutting station, where the bulk of my work has been done.  At the cutting station, the cutter first snips the wicking on top of the candle and then measures the candle length, slicing off any excess candle with a knife, heated on a hot-plate.  Here is a picture of the assembly:

The candles are then ready to be packed, weighed, and shipped.  I have been enjoying my time in the candle factory.  It has been an opportunity to get to know some of the brothers here on a deeper level when a few of us are assigned, as well as an opportunity for some quiet time when I am assigned alone. The other brothers tell me that you eventually get tired of the smell of beeswax, but so far this hasn't been true for me.  I cherish your prayers. 

  

A Quiet Meadow

Sundays here at the monastery are quite a bit different than the rest of the week.  The church is full of people in contrast to the sparse, quiet daily services; there is a large, mixed choir of lay people rather than a small trio of monks, and the bishop is serving with many priests and deacons as opposed to the priest-deacon duo of the weekday services.  For my part, upon the completion of the service, I was needing some personal, quiet time, so I went on a walk to explore some of the 300 acres of monastery property and this is what I found:  

There was a little cottage built out there, with a rocker on the porch, so I just sat for a while, basking in the heat of the sun and the quiet of nature.  I was re-energized for my return.  Please continue to keep me in your prayers.

More Obediences

The sun came back yesterday and I was able to do some weeding with the other guest, Artemios, who is visiting from Greece.  See our work below.  Today, I got to work in the candle factory, which was no problem for me because they make 100% beeswax candles, and I love the smell of beeswax.  The abbot of the monastery has been very understanding of my chemical sensitivities in giving me obediences; I haven't had to wear my respirator once--Glory to God! Learning a lot. Keep me in your prayers as you are all in mine.   

First Obedience

After a few days of recuperation from my travels, I have been given my first obedience.  An obedience is basically the monastic equivalent of a job, which can be as simple as helping to cook a meal or as complex as running the bookstore.  My task this morning was to help one of the brothers take out the trash.  We hopped in the truck and traveled around the grounds, emptying all the cans into bags and loading them in the truck.   After witnessing how well I could spot all the garbage cans, my workmate said I would make a good monk.  Of course, he was speaking a little tongue-in-cheek.  The weather has been very much like the NW these past few days--cold and wet.  The brothers tell me that they wanted me to feel at home.   

The Garbage Truck

Bright Saturday

Christ is Risen!

Arrived safely at St. Tikhon's last night after a 66-knot tail wind aided my delayed flight to arrive in time for me to make my connection.  I was overjoyed to be able to attend one final Bright Week Liturgy this morning in the Monastery Church, the last service of this most precious week in the year. The abbot of the monastery, Fr. Sergius, served the liturgy with Bishop Tikhon in attendance.  The choir was composed of members of the brotherhood as well as seminarians from across the street.  I have a few days to acclimate before they put me to work.  Thanks for your prayers.

A Gift

"Faith comes not through pondering but through action.  Not words and speculation but experience teaches us what God is.  To let in fresh air we have to open a window; to get tanned we must go out into the sunshine.  Achieving faith is no different; we never reach a goal by just sitting in comfort and waiting, say the holy Fathers.  Let the Prodigal Son be our example.  He arose and came."  -Tito Colliander


I was given these words as a gift this morning as I made my way to the Sea-Tac Airport in the pouring rain.

Update: Weather problems in Chicago.  Flight may be delayed an hour--not sure what that means for my connection to Philadelphia.  Please pray.