A friend wanted a selfie of me on a bus when I told her it was going to be one of my many modes of transportation in the next week. I remember looking at my October calendar back in August and wondering, “how will this work?” I was scheduled to do an Installation at Emmanuel, Moscow the day before Bishop’s Fall Convocation (fall theological conference for pastors, deacons, and interns) began down the road in Lewiston/Clarkston. Getting from Moscow to Clarkston seemed doable and I found a ride. Getting home to the Boise area also seemed manageable and the two deans from southern Idaho (who would be staying an extra night for a cluster deans retreat) assured me one could drive me the five hours back to my car. My car was scheduled to be at a friend’s house, just a few miles from the Boise Airport.

I was scheduled to fly to Seattle/Tacoma for a Pacific Lutheran Board meeting Oct. 11, attend orientation and a board meeting Thursday and Friday and fly late Friday night over to Spokane to be in person for a Synod Candidacy meeting at the Synod Office in Spokane. It was that leg of the trip from Spokane to Moscow that I wasn’t sure about. I hated to rent a car and leave it at a different donation–so much more expensive. But Moscow is a college town so I wondered if there was a bus. There was! It left Spokane at 7am and stopped in Colfax/Endicott, then Pullman, WA (most of our passengers seemed to WSU Cougers because they got off there), Moscow at 8:50am, and then all the way to Boise. Worship at Emmanuel was scheduled to begin at 9:30am. The bus ride cost less than my cab ride from the Spokane airport to where I was staying in Spokane, but the synod still came out ahead. Thanks Greyhound.

It was a great installation of Pastor Sierra Westerman, who grew up at Grace Lutheran in Wenatchee and then served her first call in Northeast Minnesota. Another highlight of the day was meeting the parents of Allie McIntosh, who worked at Luther Heights Bible Camp and whose camp blessing was sung at my Installation last week

The last leg of the trip was Emmanuel Lutheran council president and synod council member Gwen Sullivan driving me from Moscow to Lewiston/Clarkston. I snapped this photo driving down. The Snake River snakes through much of our synod, all the way from Jackson, WY to the Tri-Cities in southern Washington where it joins the Columbia. Here it is in Lewiston/Clarkston.