Life Marches On

Every month I say the same thing – it can’t really be the end of March already! I guess that busy days make the time pass quickly! March, usually a long month, was thankfully relaxing for the both of us, as Nick had a week of his spring break during March, and I had my spring break several weeks later.

Nick is now three weeks in to his last quarter of the school year! He is enjoying his classes so far, especially Homiletics, in which he is learning how to craft a sermon and how to preach! He is looking forward to beginning preaching in church this summer. This quarter, for his cross-cultural module, he is spending time with Congregration Chai v’Shalom, a congregation focused specifically on ministry to the Jewish people. He gets to attend worship services there and talk with the members of the congregation, and learn about ministry to the Jews. Today he also got to experience a full Sader meal. This is the meal that is done in remembrance of the Passover, found in Exodus 12. It is really powerful for him to be able to experience this ministry, especially in this time of Holy Week.    

I have enjoyed March because of the beautiful weather that we have had! Although it certainly fluctuates (we even got snow Friday morning!), spring has definitely arrived, and many of the days have been sunny and warm. Being on spring break for part of that, I actually got to enjoy the beautiful weather! We spent several hours one Sunday afternoon in the park with friends, I took one day of my break to meet Nick for a picnic lunch in the middle of his school day, and I have started taking my students outside to read and do nature walks whenever we have a nice day. I think we both weathered our first real winter pretty well, but I will say that I have definitely enjoyed the warmer weather, and not having to scrape ice from the car in the mornings or wear multiple jackets to stay warm!

At the end of my spring break, Nick and I had a great opportunity to attend a two-day prayer retreat put on by Grace Place, an organization focused on the wellness of church workers in the Lutheran church. We had the opportunity to learn about various strategies and resources to help us maintain a healthy personal spiritual life, which is so extremely important, especially for Nick, as he is going into a profession in which he is going to be caring for others’ spiritual needs. We spent time in prayer, reading Scriptures, singing hymns, and meditating on the Word. It was a refreshing and educational experience, and we both really appreciated being able to attend that retreat. This is just one of the wonderful things about being here at the seminary, where they constantly encourage us and help to grow us and prepare us for the ministry!

In between the long work days, the homework, lesson planning and preparation, and chores, we somehow still manage to find time for some fun. Early in the month, we attended Trivia Night at church. Now, apparently, this is a cultural thing that almost much every church or school in the St. Louis area does. Being from California, we didn’t know how it worked. We were given free tickets (another benefit of being in seminary), and so we just planned to show up that evening. It turns out that this is a huge deal, and there are even groups that go around to every trivia night offered and just blow every other team out of the water. The norm is to have a team and table decorations and themed food ready to go. We just showed up, and sat at the table with the two other couples without a team. Our table was pretty sad-looking, completely empty of any themed food or decorations, but we actually did pretty well as far as the trivia went! But we will know better for next year.  We also attended an event on the seminary campus this weekend known as the SWA (Seminary Women’s Association) Ball. Our group of friends decided it would be an inexpensive way to get a fun date night out all together. So we all dressed up and ventured out on a Friday night (not an easy endeavor for a teacher, I’ll have you know) to eat and dance. We all had a lot of fun eating, talking, and dancing, and then we went over to our friends’ apartment to watch a movie, where, in true Mikaela fashion, I fell asleep on the couch! (That’s more like a normal Friday night for a teacher).

Another adventure that we took on this month was a fast from all sweets and desserts. We didn’t do it for Lent, mostly just to try to be healthy (it seemed like a good month with no holidays that would mess it up!). We spent two weeks with limited desserts, and then two weeks with no desserts at all. Although we didn’t do it to lose a certain number of pounds or anything like that, we did learn several important lessons from this dessert fast. First, it opened my eyes to how many desserts and sweets we are offered in a day. Even though we had hidden away all the candy in our apartment and had no fresh baked goods around either, dessert options were available to us – for free! - at least five out of seven days of each week. Between birthday cupcakes in my classroom, huge boxes of chocolate and baked goods that well-meaning congregation members bring the teachers, desserts provided at Lenten suppers, women’s classes at seminary, and the prayer retreat, donuts at church on Sunday morning, and cookies and ice cream available when spending time with friends, we had to say no to desserts more than I expected to have to, even without seeking anything out. The second lesson I learned is that I really missed baking. Baking is one of the things that I enjoy on the weekends to relax and spend time away from work, and I love finding a random dessert on Pinterest and trying it out, and bringing it to our game nights with our friends to share. I wasn’t able to do that in the last month, so doing that yesterday for the first time in a long while was really fun! We also discovered that we are normally the dessert people when we hang out with friends, and we were at a loss of what to bring to game nights and parties when I wasn’t making desserts! Lastly, we learned that we (well, mainly Nick) drink a LOT less milk when we don’t have desserts in the apartment! For the first time since being married, I didn’t have to buy milk this week when I went grocery shopping, because we still had a full gallon in the fridge! Overall, it was a great learning experience, and I think it will help us to make healthier choices in the future, but after writing this, I am going to go dish myself up a nice piece of apple cake.

We want to thank everyone for the amazing support for our time so far in seminary! For those of you supporting us in prayer, we want to let you know that God has answered in amazing ways, and He has blessed us greatly. For those of you who have financially supported us, you are a major part of God’s blessings in our life. Already, the first year of seminary has been completely paid for, and we have not had to take out any loans. We are now beginning to save for next year, hoping to keep up this streak of not accruing more debt! We really appreciate all that you have done for us.

We wish you the best during this celebration of Christ’s passion and resurrection and we celebrate with you the resurrection of life that He offers us through that.

In the name of Christ our Savior,

Nick and Mikaela Duerr

Enjoying the warm spring weather!

Winter, finally!

At the end of our January blog post, I mentioned how we were so thankful for being blessed with mild weather and good health. Unfortunately, February changed both of those things for us here in the Duerr household!  

February finally brought the winter we’ve been expecting for months! We’ve actually had a few snows that leave more than just a dusting on the ground, and it’s been cold enough that there are piles of snow sitting around, still there after several weeks. It’s been quite the adventure for us! Fortunately, we are still both in love with the snow, and every time there is a snowfall, it’s hard to pull us away from the window. It just would have been nice to have this back in December when we wanted it, not so much now when we want to look ahead to spring! We are also fortunate that the snow has not brought any bad driving conditions for us so far!

February also unfortunately has been a month of sickness in our house. I (Mikaela) came down with strep throat early in February, and I had to take my first sick day of the school year. Thankfully, a trip to urgent care and some antibiotics helped me get back on my feet quickly and in time for my parents’ visit. Unfortunately, a few days after I finished those antibiotics, I started getting sick again. A few days later, Nick ended up really sick as well, so we both made a trip into urgent care, and both tested positive for strep. So we were administered a different kind of antibiotics, and we both took two days off work this week and just stayed home and rested! We are both feeling much better now, and hopefully it stays that way this time!

Thankfully, Nick stayed healthy until after finals week was over. He spent several weeks this month working non-stop on papers and tests, and was very glad for the end of the quarter to come. He gets one more week of break this upcoming week, and then he will be starting his spring quarter! Spring quarter will bring some great classes like Homiletics (after which, he will be able to preach!), and Exodus and the Torah. My month in my classroom has been equally crazy, between several sick days, a field trip, Valentine’s Day, a Kindergarten preview night for prospective students and their parents, and many, many days that have been too cold or wet to take the kids outside to play. I’m looking forward to the days when we go outside more often than we stay in.

A big event for us in February was when my parents came out for a visit! They made the long drive first from California to South Carolina, to visit my younger sister in college there, and then stopped by St. Louis on the way back for a week-long visit. Well, that was the plan anyway! One normal Sunday morning, Nick and I went to church, and since he was doing liturgy at both services, I went down to my classroom during the morning service to get some work done in my classroom (that’s the life of a first year teacher!). I walked up to the church just in time for the late service, and when I opened the door to the narthex, to my surprise, there were my mom and dad standing there! Since I hadn’t seen them since July when we left California, it was a very exciting and emotional moment. They attended church with us, took us out to lunch, and then were on their way to South Carolina to surprise my sister in time for her birthday! (She expected them to arrive several days later). About a week later, they returned to St. Louis (to stay for a while this time!). We had so much fun just hanging out with them and showing them our life here in St. Louis. It was fun for us to show them our apartment, to cook dinners for them, and show them what we’ve accomplished and how we’ve grown up in the last six months. My mom, being a former Kindergarten teacher, loved being in my classroom, and she even came and helped with our Valentine’s Day party and taught my kids some songs and read some fun books to them. Their departure was scheduled for President’s Day, and then a snowstorm came in, so they ended up staying an extra day, which worked out great, because Nick got a snow day off of school, so we had a fun extra day to spend some time with them! They left the next day, leaving our refrigerator and freezer full of food and meals ready to put in the crock pot – such a blessing for us! It was a fun visit, and we look forward to the next time they come!

Another really exciting event for this month was just a few days ago, when we booked our plane tickets to visit California for two weeks this summer! We haven’t been able to afford a trip back since moving here in July, and so over the last few months, we’ve saved as much Christmas money as we could, and any extra money we’ve had left over at the end of the month. We finally saved up enough to purchase the plane tickets! We are looking forward especially to seeing friends and family, going to my cousin’s wedding, throwing my sister a baby shower, and of course, spending some quality time at the beach and eating some In-N-Out!

All dressed up at an Oscar-themed birthday party for a friend! 

In the name of Christ our savior,

Nick and Mikaela Duerr

Month of Mayhem

Can you believe how quickly January seemed to fly by? It’s amazing how quickly the weeks go when we are so busy with work and school!

Nick has kept extremely busy with school, as most of the winter quarter happens in the month of January. He spent most nights in the first week after break staying up until midnight (or later!) working on assignments and reading. This quarter, Nick has been going to a retirement home once a week as part of his coursework. He spends his time there talking with the residents, many of whom don’t have family nearby to visit them. He enjoys talking to them and hearing their stories, and about their families – especially their grandchildren!

Mikaela jumped right back into work right away in January, putting in some hours in the classroom even before break was over. It was hard to keep up with all the extras that come in the month of January – report cards, school fundraisers, open house, National Lutheran School’s Week, and the 100^th Day of School (which is a big deal in Kindergarten!) – all on top of the normal planning, prep work, and teaching that comes with the job! She came home many evenings in those first weeks back with several more hours of work to do before going to bed. One small luxury for her was having a day off of school for Martin Luther King Jr. Day. The seminary did not take that day as a holiday, and so while Nick went to school, Mikaela spent a relaxing day at home, and joined him at the seminary for a picnic lunch, enjoying a beautiful day in this mild winter!    

Despite the full days and the long to-do lists, we have enjoyed so many blessings in this past month.

First of all, some of the hectic craziness in our schedules comes from the fact that we get to spend our weekends with wonderful friends! We feel so fortunate to have people here at seminary that we have met and befriended, especially after making such a long move away from friendships we had been developing for years at college. We are blessed to spend time with other couples our age, playing games, watching movies, snacking on good food, and just having good conversation, getting to know each other better.

Secondly, January 12 marked six months of marriage for us! Thanks to gift cards that we have received, we were able to enjoy a nice dinner out at Elephant Bar to celebrate. Once again, time flies doesn’t it? It’s amazing how quickly six months have gone by, and yet we can look back and see how much we have grown together and learned about each other and about living life on our own as grown-ups. (One of these days, we’ll give you some of our “First Year of Marriage Fails” stories.)

We were also blessed financially once again, with God showing us how He is working in our lives over and over! The week before Nick’s seminary tuition payment was due, a check came in that was $14 over what we owed, allowing us to go another quarter without having to take out loans to pay for his schooling. This is a huge blessing to us, allowing us to focus on paying off Mikaela’s student loans, rather than accruing more debt. We continue to be amazed at the way that God’s people show us His love through their generous support of Nick’s ministry, and we want to thank you all for your support, both financially and through prayer!

Lastly, we have been blessed with good health and mild weather, neither of which are to be taken for granted! Mikaela has managed to keep away from most of the illnesses that her Kindergarteners spread around, and when she has gotten sick, they’ve been short illnesses contained in a weekend. And Nick has managed to keep away from the illnesses that Mikaela brings home! We have been grateful for dry, clear days as well, keeping us from having to drive on dangerous, icy roads. Although we wouldn’t mind seeing some more snow (it is still our first year out of California, you know!), we know that we have been blessed with the mild weather that we’ve had so far this winter.

As we go into this next month, we look forward to a visit from Mikaela’s mom and dad, the start of spring break for Nick, the start of the Lenten season, and some good times with friends. We are so thankful for the blessings that God has granted us, and we thank you for being God’s blessing in our lives, whether through financial support, prayers, or friendship.

In the name of Christ our Savior,

Nick and Mikaela Duerr

Picnic Lunch at the Seminary

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

Merry Christmas!

December has been a mix of hectic business and much needed relaxation time. With the first of December also came the start of my second quarter at seminary. Classes jumped right in, with professors trying to cram in as much material as possible before the break, and by the end of the first week of classes, I was sick. After four days bedridden with the flu, I was able to return to classes, and somehow got through the next two weeks without falling behind. Unfortunately, the cough that accompanied the fever caused me to lose my voice. It got me out of any talking required for class, but things became very difficult when it came time for me to do liturgy in church. About two out of three words I tried to say actually made noise, so it was good that everything was printed in the bulletin as well. Christmas break was quite a relief when it finally arrived.

Mikaela also had a busy month. First, being December, any resemblance of peace or focus in the kindergarten classroom is nearly impossible with Christmas anticipation being so high. Added to that, there was a virus being passed around the school, so she had between one and four students out of school sick on any given day in those three weeks between Thanksgiving and Christmas (a big impact on a class of 11!). And finally, a new student joined her class, which has been challenging because he had to learn all of the routines which the rest of the class has been trained into for months. So when it was time to send the kids home on the last day of school, she was very ready to have a break.

During this first week of Christmas vacation, we've been able to enjoy a level of relaxation we have not achieved since we got married. Since July we've been traveling, in school, working, and doing chores non-stop. So having two weeks with limited responsibilities has felt wonderful to us.

Our first Christmas together started at 3:00 p.m. on Christmas Eve. We had to leave our apartment with enough time for me to be there before the 4:00 service. After the service we ate dinner with the Bueckmans, a couple who was kind enough to invite us over to give us a place to stay between church services, and we got back to church in time for the 7:00 service. After that service the Bueckmans took us to see a holiday light display, and then we returned back to their house for desserts. After desserts, it was back to church for the 11:00 service, where Mikaela was conscripted to fill in as a soloist for someone who had developed a cold and lost her voice. Immediately following the service, we went home and straight to bed. The next morning we got up early enough to have a special breakfast (homemade cinnamon rolls!) before rushing off to church for their Christmas morning service. When we returned home, we were so tired we did not even want to open gifts until after we had taken a nap. And although we were not able to return home to spend Christmas with our families, we got to Skype and Facetime with both of our families during the day. Despite the long and exhausting nature of the day, we had a wonderful Christmas.

The day after Christmas was a little less dramatic, but extremely fun. Mikaela's brother TJ bought us tickets to see the Trans Siberian Orchestra at the ScottTrade Center. We were able to see their two-and-a-half hour production of "The Christmas Attic." It was a very good time, with loud rock music, pyrotechnics, and band members standing on platforms that raised them up into the air and then extended over the audience, with the final number being their iconic “Carol of the Bells.” We had heard that Trans Siberian Orchestra put on amazing shows, and this one definitely did not disappoint us! Compared to that, the rest of the month felt relatively quiet!

We would like to conclude by wishing everyone a merry Christmas. This is such a wonderful time of year, for this is the time we take to remember that God, the One who created the whole universe, loved us enough to humiliate Himself enough to become a human, then be further humiliated and allow Himself to be killed that we might die and rise with Him, and therefore live eternally.

In the name of Christ our savior,

Nick and Mikaela

Finals, Family, and Snowfall

Greetings to our friends and family and blessings as we enter the Christmas season!

November has been a busy month in the Duerr household. Mikaela had the opportunity to attend the Missouri District Professional Church Workers' conference at Tan-Tar-A Resort at the Lake of the Ozarks. She  enjoyed attending workshops for professional development, and spending some quality time with her fellow teachers. Despite having a great time at the Lake of the Ozarks, she was very happy to return home to St. Louis.
As Mikaela was out of town, I was finishing my first quarter of classes at the seminary. In the last week of the quarter, I took four tests and wrote two papers. Although I enjoyed the classes I took and learned a lot from them, I was very glad to finish the term and enjoy two weeks off classes.
A big excitement this month was when we got our first snow here in St. Louis! As California natives, we enjoyed the beauty of the snowfall out our window so much that we couldn't seem to get anything else done! The first afternoon that it snowed, we got to go to the St. Louis Botanical Gardens with some friends and enjoy the fresh snow as it decorated the gardens. Several snowball fights were involved as well!
The main event of November was of course, Thanksgiving. We enjoyed the company of my parents, Steve and Cathy, and little brother, Tony, who flew out to visit from California, as well as Mikaela's younger sister, Karina, who flew out from her college in South Carolina. This was the first time we had family visit since we got married and moved to St. Louis, so it was very exciting! We had fun showing our family our apartment, our church and school, and the seminary. We went sight-seeing with them to the Gateway Arch, the Anheuser-Busch Brewery Tour, the Old Courthouse, the St. Louis Basilica Cathedral, and some famous St. Louis restaurants like Fitz's and Ted Drewes.  On the day before Thanksgiving, it snowed for most of the day, so we all sat in our apartment watching the snow fall, waiting for it to stick on the ground, and then when it started to stick, we all went out and had so much fun playing in the snow! We built a snowman named Ivan, threw snowballs, and probably made all the neighbors stare at us for enjoying that tiny bit of snow so much. We loved having family here and we were disappointed to see them leave! Overall, it was a wonderful break, but we were both glad to get back into our routines this week!

In the name of Christ our Savior,
Nick and Mikaela Duerr

A Lesson in Trust

Hello friends and family,

October has been a busy month. School is in full swing for both of us. Mikaela has settled into a routine in her classroom, and is no longer planning day-by-day, but has planned well ahead so that she actually has time to relax. Since the last post, I have gone from just barely starting school to being almost done with my first quarter. My classes are going well, and I am keeping very busy between homework and work in the campus mailroom and general labor crew. On top of that, I have had the opportunity to help out a lot at church. The last two Sundays I have been up in front of the church, leading the liturgy, reading the Bible passages, and helping to serve communion. It has been very nice to finally be up in front of the church, getting a taste of what has been my goal for years.

In our free time we have also been taking a class together. The seminary offers Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University for free to all students. So over the last two months we have been getting lessons in money management. It has been great for us to be in control of what we do with our money. In fact, today we sat down for several hours and budgeted for the next month. Because of this, we are able to both start paying off our debts and pay for groceries.

Our month has been very busy. We had the opportunity to participate in two big celebrations. Mikaela's school, Our Savior Lutheran, celebrated its 50th anniversary this month, and we were happy to be a part of the festivities. We also got to celebrate the seminary's 175th birthday on the same weekend. That was a lot of fun, even though the outdoor portion of the event was pushed inside due to inclement weather. The final anniversary this month is still to come. Mikaela will turn 23 on this coming Thursday. Of course, she won't be happy about me adding this since she claims she is getting old, but it's only fair you should know.

Not only have we been busy with school and celebratory events, but God has been very active in our lives. This month, twice, we have had unexpected expenses that have somewhat blindsided us. The first was a medical bill that we were not expecting, and the second was the oil change on the car, which we expected, but the cost was triple the amount we had in our budget. Both situations threw our budget into turmoil. We had an emergency fund that would help cover it, but we were still reeling from the shock. And both times, after we cut our budget and pulled from savings to pay the expense--the medical bill and the oil change-- we were unexpectedly given enough money to cover the cost. While stressful, we saw God proving to us, multiple times, that He was taking care of us. It is just amazing to us how He has stepped in on our behalf and makes it possible for us to continue following His call.

We appreciate all of your prayers, and we are praying for you.

In the name of Christ our Savior,

The Duerrs

Settling In

Dear readership,

First, Mikaela and I would like to thank you all for the support that you have given us, both in the past and currently. We are very thankful to have all of you in our lives.

Second, and the primary purpose of this blog, we want to update you on how things are going for us in the ministries to which we've been called. The months of August and September (thus far) have been both exciting and challenging. After our wedding and honeymoon, we made the long drive from California out to St. Louis. We moved into our apartment and began furnishing it late in July. While we managed to get many pieces rather cheaply, or in some cases free, we are still looking for a few items to complete our search. Now, decorations are going up, and we are almost completely settled in!

Shortly after arriving, Mikaela started work at Our Savior Lutheran School in Fenton. After some initial staff meetings, she started preparing both her classroom and her lessons for the incoming kindergarten class. First, she had to clean and strip the classroom to its bare bones, then start decorating after that. This was a long and arduous process due to a long summer of disuse, but after many long hours, she finally had the classroom prepared just in time for the start of school. Her class started on August 13th, and she has been working tirelessly since then to teach her class of ten five-year-olds the basics of reading, writing, math, and classroom etiquette.

After about a month of waiting, I finally have started classes. Since we live off campus, and Mikaela needs the car to drive to work, I had planned on riding my bike to school every day. Unfortunately, on the second day of classes, a spoke in one of the wheels broke, and now I'm walking. I get rides when I can, but there are many times that I enjoy my walks in the cool morning air. Classes have been their own sort of adventure. Since they are initially designed for second career students who have not been the classroom for years, they are starting slowly, but I am constantly encountering new material that is challenging me. For me, that is the best part of being a student. I have also managed to get three on campus jobs, trying to help cover expenses of school and costs of living. I am working in the mail room, sorting and delivering mail, and on the general labor team, setting up and tearing down for events on campus. I have not yet started my ushering job, but I am looking forward to the opportunities it will provide. I have also begun working at my field work church, also Our Savior Lutheran, and have done the readings for several services, with many more to come.

We have also had the opportunity to explore our new home, the city of St. Louis. Our second week here, a friend wanted to go to a Cardinals game for his birthday, so a large group of us gathered together and went to the game. We sat in the highest seats possible, and eventually the game ended in a rain delay, but we had an amazing time. Over Labor Day weekend, we took the metro to Laclede's Landing, just above the Mississippi River, and went to the annual Big Muddy Blues Festival, a free, three day event with live blues bands. From there, we wandered across the street and saw the famous Gateway Arch. We decided to not yet go to the visitor's center, but that is something we plan to do soon. Last weekend, we decided to take a walk in Forest Park. Due to the close proximity of the seminary to the park, we were able to park our car at the school and walk to the park. It was altogether a delightful afternoon.

Mikaela and I appreciate all of your prayers and support in the new and challenging part of our life. We also pray that God would keep you in His care as you fulfill the calling He has given to you.

In the name of Christ our savior.