Our first full day in South Dakota means our first full day of people watching and trying to figure out whether we could possibly survive in the Midwest.
It is Sunday, so we went to church. There is no Anglican parish in this state, so we attended St. Thomas More Catholic Church, which seemed appropriate, as he is the patron saint of adopted children.
The message was on Jesus, who told his disciples to take nothing but a walking stick on their evangelistic journeys. He was not a passionate speaker, but he did say something important: Be faithful in your daily family devotions. Do not neglect them. The prayers of the people centered around rain for crops and a good harvest, as well as health for the people of Brookings.
Our conversation with the priest after mass was refreshing.
Brandon: We are traveling and found no Anglican churches, so we decided to come to mass here.
Priest: (without emotion) There is a Lutheran church in town.
Brandon: We thought this church might be more our speed.
Priest: (without emotion) What brings you to Brookings?
Brandon: We are considering moving here, and so we are in town for a few days to feel it out.
Priest: I hear it’s very hard to find housing here.
This priest is a realist, a non-evangelist, quite comfortable with his congregation as it is. He is, in fact, happy with his congregation. He isn’t trying to get another family to join. This isn’t part of my advertisement-based California paradigm! This is the Midwest. It feels freeing and non-pushy. Likely, in reality, this priest understood that he would likely never see us again, we don’t need to be saved, we are obviously fine, and so he doesn’t need to spend time on us. Boom. Efficient. Done. Love it!
We got into the car and Judah piped up: I can’t believe I just sat in church with corn farmers! FINALLY!
Who knew this is what he has been waiting for his entire life? His soul is incredibly happy here. He has begged us to move here from the moment we set eyes on South Dakota many years ago. His little three-year-old heart has remembered this land for 10 years, and now that moving here is within the realm of possibility, he is joyful in a way I have not seen before.
We have some time to kill here. What that means is that we have several days to kill here. We all had ideas about what to do first. The kids wanted to go in the stream. Brandon wanted to find out where we could get the battery on the Suburban fixed. I wanted to listen to my audio book and pretend I had already moved. Brandon ended up taking a nap, the kids came back entirely muddy, and I made a necklace out of a rock from Bryce Canyon. I think we all needed that time to be free for a second after such closeness over the past week!
Brookings has an art festival every year. Rumor has it, this festival is as old as I am, or almost as old, and we could not miss it. I would say that it was all the booths one wants without the lame gadget barkers. Nobody was making smoothies in a special kitchen blender, nobody was trying to convince you that you need a mop to make your life complete, nobody was even offering massages in a chair the size of Mt. Rushmore! it was a fair populated by people who made things, and that was all. At least, that I saw.
Judah found an antique booth where he bought an enormous transformer for Atticus, and they boys each found a wooden sword. Atticus played on the playground with the mass of kids, and I went to find my friend who I discovered was hosting a booth representing her native people. Introverted people like me appreciate discovering a calm, joyful soul in a far-off land. Then the realization: If we move here, we will know a family close by, and a creative friend who makes beautiful items.
Nighttime comes late here. The sun is still up at 9:00 at night, and so there is a lot of time to think it is day when it is not. A night-owl’s dream. Tonight we read and rested. There is no stress right now. There are beautiful bugs and creatures, fireflies, rabbits, and an orchestra of bird and bug sounds.
This is a good place to sleep outside.
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