Uniquity

So, I'm repenting in dust and ashes from my earlier complaint about my pastor here. Yesterday's message out of Colossians was very full and filling. I came out much encouraged and re-calibrated to the Truth that's in Jesus. So, I feel really bad about my griping. A good lesson on the dangers of hasty judgement.
Then he announced that he was clearing out his library and had a bunch of books out on the tables in the hall. So after the message I wandered out into wonderland. It was a really good selection too, I made out like a bandit with a partial Church History set and the full set of "The Fundamentals" which I'd been thinking of buying anyway. So I was very happy, walking down the hall with a huges stack of books under my arm, and Pastor John, one of the other staff pastors asked me if I was looking for an outlet to teach the word, and suggested the young (pre-teen) group, but was open to see if something else would suit me better. So I asked for his card and he requested that I call and set up a lunch meeting or something to talk about it. So I'm really excited and feeling blessed about that, since that's kind of the reason I came out here.
After church we all went down to Centralia to my aunt's place so that my dad could see his mom and we could all kind of get together. It was interesting watching them get together and tell stories, my dad and his mom emphasize very different parts of his/their lives. At one point I saw him feeling the back of Jaelle's head for something and I asked what he was looking for, and he said really quickly he was checking her skull shape. His mom and uncle were in the room and always give him a hard time for being "wierd", so he quickly said "Nothing" when granny asked what he said. On the drive home I re-asked the question figuring he'd feel more free to say, and he said he was checking to see if they have anatolian bumps, an ethnically specific bump formation on the back of the skull that indicates Central asian ancestry, he and I both have it. Then he pointed out an alternate scenic route that went through all of his old childhood romping grounds. He kept pointing out historical landmarks and geological landforms like the Tenino Plain from back when he was really into geology and archaeology.
I've really enjoyed having my dad with us, we've been staying up all hours of the night talking for the last three nights. He's telling me all about Korea, his life as a young man, a lot of the reasoning behind all our moves and life changes when I was too little to care or remember, a lot of philosophy and anthropology and Cultural information about Korea, Japan and the surrounding areas, it's very rare that I get someone just to ask questions of for a long period who can fill me in on a lot of things I'm curious about. He's also very fun to talk with about the paranormal. I have a little handheld MP3 recorder that I'd bought in MN to record family conversations, but I have forgotten to turn it on for almost every one of the really good conversations we've had.
He took us out for Mexican food the other day, at a little Taqueria down the street, that was nice, although I have a hard time taking things from him. The kids have been swarming him every time he comes out of the room for stories and wrestling and questions, and he's been trying to teach them some korean and little tidbits of linguistics, they've been having a blast.
Josiah said he doesn't look old "'cause he doesn't have any stripes, and that's how you get old, you get a lot of stripes"
(read "wrinkles")
That got us all a good laugh. I really do hope and pray that he will come to believe in Jesus of Nazareth again, that's the only way I can see that things could be any better.