Next Stop: Spokane, Washington
September 12, 2008
When you travel as much as I do, you learn certain lessons early, one of the most obvious ones being that if you start in Tupelo, MS, it’s going to take you a while to get almost anywhere. That’s definitely true today because while you read these words, I’m in the air on my way to Spokane, Washington. There is no simple way to make the trip. In this case, we’ve set the alarm for 3:20 AM so we can leave by 3:45 AM for the drive to Columbus, MS (about 70 miles south of Tupelo) where we will catch a flight from Columbus to Atlanta, which means to go west I have to start by going east. The flight arrives in Atlanta at 7:55 AM and the flight for Salt Lake City leaves at 8:30 AM. That usually means arriving at the very end of one long concourse, rushing to the center, taking the train to another concourse, and sprinting to make the next flight. In Salt Lake City I catch another flight for Spokane.
My itinerary takes me west this weekend because I am speaking for the fall retreat at Moody Bible Institute in Spokane. Folks who know about Moody in Chicago may not know much about their Washington campus, but it is rapidly growing and in five years is projected to have 600 students. And here’s the fun part. The Dean of Students is Daniel Ward. I have known Daniel and Cherise for many years because they were part of the church in Oak Park. It is through their recommendation that I was invited to speak this weekend. So I have an extra reason to be happy about making the trip.
The retreat is being held at Clearwater Lodge on Davis Lake, about an hour north of Spokane. Daniel said that the 275 people on the retreat will max out the lodge. Because of the large crowd, I will be speaking in an outdoor amphitheater overlooking the lake. Daniel also informed me that it will be chilly tomorrow night (in the 40s) so I’m taking a couple of sweaters. It’s a quick trip for me because I’m speaking once on Friday night and twice on Saturday and then I’m done and on my way cross-country to Lynchburg, Virginia on Sunday morning. But I’m glad to be part of the retreat because speaking to students fits into our vision of helping inspire the next generation of up-and-coming Christian leaders.