Yesterday, both Elise and I exchanged our Ore. driver's licenses for AK ones. I say "mostly" because many of the benefits of being residents (such as fishing license and hunting tags) won't be available until spending a year in residence. There are others things, such as the state-based health insurance pool that isn't open to new residents until at least a year has passed.
The DMV licensing office here is located at the city Police Department office. It's open three days a week for just a few hours each. On the other hand, there's no having to take a number, wait an hour (or two, or...) get something done, get back in line, and then wait again, etc.
I'm not sure exactly why, but I had this sense of dread of having to take the written exam. Even though I know that it's designed so that even teenagers and elderly people can pass it, and people whose first language isn't English can pass it, there's the lingering fear that somehow I might manage to miss too many questions. But it was all unfounded as I ended up with a perfect score.
Elise's dad has been spending some of the time working on fixing some physical plant issues with the church. He says that's his hobby, and has in the past worked with Maranatha in church building projects. So our panic/crash bars on the doors, which used to feel loose and wobbly, are all feeling much more secure. He's been fixing some of the outdoor light fixtures and has found where the malfunctioning photo-cell is located. So it looks like we will have fully functioning outdoor lights before he leaves.
The weather forecast says that the rain this afternoon will likely turn into snow and may accumulate up to 4 inches by sometime tomorrow. I'm sure the kids will enjoy it, if things turn out as the forecast says. But as mentioned some weeks ago, forecasting here seems more art than science. So we will see.
We had an interesting discussion during our Wed. morning pastors' coffee time. We started out talking about Christmas sermons, and how after twenty or so years, pastors run out of new ways of telling the story, and most congregations have heard the story so many times that they might just tune out. I guess I don't have that problem yet, as I'm new and most of the members in our church haven't had the benefit of a regular pastor for many, many years.
And then we got on the topic of how some church members and pastors believe that they have an exclusive hold on salvation and that anyone not believing like them will be lost. All churches and denominations have a certain set of individuals who hold to this line of belief. Unfortunately, and unsurprisingly, at least one of the pastors says he's experienced Adventist pastors of that ilk. They're entitled to their belief and opinions, but I believe this reflects negatively on Christianity and only reinforces the stereotypes that many non-Christians have of Christians. If Christians are attacking one another, claiming exclusive hold on salvation (isn't that a cult?), why would someone on the outside want to become one? Of the pastors who regularly meet together here, we do have doctrinal disagreements, but we are first of all Christians, and only secondarily identify ourselves with a particular set of beliefs.
The discussion moved on to politics and religion, and we pretty much agreed that what we need in American politics is a party of the middle. And we wish the self-appointed spokepersons of Christianity would shut-up and sit down, and allow the moderate voices to be heard. We wish that the Christian contributions to political discussions would be more than just a couple of divisive issues, but rather, be more inclusive especially of those who are truly oppressed and beaten down.
Since Alaska is a so-called "red" state, there were some individuals back in Oregon who warned me that I might find myself isolated in my societal views, but that doesn't seem to be the case here in Petersburg.
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