MSIA travel staff was recently in the Midwest and parts of Canada, providing MSIA Services (Innerphasings, Polarity Balances & Aura Balances) as well as MSIA events. Staff member, Angel Gibson, provides this update from the trip:
DAY 8 — ON TO ST. LOUIS
Today we’re into a new adventure; we are driving from Kalamazoo to St. Louis, approximately 9 hours, including breaks. The weather cooperates perfectly, sunny, warm. We top off our gas tanks and away we go. John is blazing a trail above and before us by flying to St. Louis. Vincent and Lesley are driving the equipment van and in the luggage van I’m driving with Cleora navigating and Roger holding the Light…ok so it looks a lot like snoozing. I brought along some of my favorite CD’s and pretty soon we’re singing along. Lots of white fluffy clouds in the baby blue sky. We’re taking in the local color that shows up on billboards as we go along. We seem to be going through NRA country based on all the billboards we’re seeing about guns…hmmm, interesting. Ah, it’s lunch at Bennigans about halfway through. A caring waitress manages to handle with good humor all of our no onion/garlic/pork restrictions. Then a quick Starbucks stop to get us geared for the second half of the drive.
We go through Springfield and there are lots of signs about Abraham Lincoln sites to visit. Finally we’re onto the St. Louis highways and our hotel is in sight. We’re ready to get onto land, and Roger and I want to see the baseball game. Cleora, Vincent and Lesley retire for a quiet evening; John joins up with Roger and me and we walk over to Ozzie’s, a fun, testosterone buzzing sports bar/restaurant, near our hotel. This place is on the wild side tonight as guys and a few girls are watching Dallas play Buffalo and Cleveland playing the Yankees on side-by-side TV’s. I love it here — the energy, cheers, groans, talking back to the TV’s. One cameo grabs my attention — a young man with head bowed over his food is saying grace and then completes with the sign of the cross — a moment of peace and gratitude in the midst of all the boisterousness around him. I’m enjoying my chicken and chips, the games and the spiritedness of the environment….and it really takes concentration to watch the Indians with the football game gaining in volume. Dinner done, we head back to our rooms to watch the final game moments of the games in the quiet. Well, Dallas wins in a sensational ending, and so do the Indians. A few more emails, and then wonderful sleep.
DAY 9 — ST. LOUIS
A busy day of Services today. Vincent and Lesley are going to John and Marion Comerfords, and Cleora and I are going to the Marcy and Miriam Goldsteins. The Comerfords and the Goldsteins are about 5 minutes apart so we all come together for a very nurturing and tasty lunch of turkey and roast beef. Then we continue on with Services in our respective locations. After Services Vincent and Lesley go onto to John McBride’s office to assist Roger with fine-tuning the audio/video equipment for the closed Seminar this evening. The Goldsteins drive Cleora and me. Discourse subscribers from Kansas and all parts of Missouri have come and soon John Morton arrives. He’s doing a closed MSIA Seminar with us tonight and these are rare, so we feel doubly blessed. We seem to go very deep and far away as John talks, so much so that at the end of the evening it’s all we can do to keep from walking into each other. Always kind of fun after Seminars like this one to try packing up the equipment. We keep looking to find a cable that is right in front of our noses…oh well, “earth to staff”. However we managed it, the equipment is finally in all of its proper cases, and the cases are in the vans and we get back to our hotel. It’s late and now it’s time to pack our suitcases for tomorrow we’ll be going to Minneapolis. Light to all of us!
DAY 10 — ON TO MINNEAPOLIS
We are on it this morning as we’re all packed up and shipped out on the road to the airport right at the designated hour. Actually everything goes so smoothly that we find ourselves sitting at the gate waiting area. Our travel takes us through Chicago and then onto Minneapolis. Our plane is late in taking off and so when we reach Chicago we have all of 20 minutes to get off the plane and high tail it to our connecting flight. Of course, some of us have to wait on the gangway for our handcarries, so Cleora goes ahead to hold the next plane for us. Good thing she did because we would have missed our flight! So with Grace and the Traveler we fly on to Minneapolis. By the way, I forgot to mention that the temperature has now dropped into the 40’s. God has decided it’s time for Fall. Brrrr…brrrr as we arrive.
Kathy Kornblum, our Minneapolis MSIA Rep, greets us at the hotel. She has made sure our rooms are all ready and waiting for us. We quickly unpack and then head for dinner as each of us is hungry after a full travel day. It is our final dinner together, and we enjoy dining at “Vincent’s” “mais certainment”. “Ooooh,” the risotto hits the spot, and we each try a different dessert, taking a few bites of the dish in front of us we pass it to the right and taste again. A marvelous way to finish the meal. We’re definitely warmed up and it’s a good thing because that walk back to the hotel is — shall we say — “brisk”! I decide to give myself a luxurious few moments in front of the TV watching the end of a segment of Ken Burns’ “The War.” I find myself waking up about an hour later with the TV showing something entirely different. Now I’m awake so why not do some emails for awhile in the quiet of midnight. Well, Light to us all here in this new city, and Light ahead to tomorrow.
DAY 11 — MINNEAPOLIS
Today we split to do Services — Lesley and Vincent are at the hotel and Cleora and I go to Kathy’s. Roger is setting up the a/v equipment for the workshop tonight. Kathy’s home is warm and cozy and William Lurth makes this yummy lamb stew which warms us up perfectly. This cold air brings out the fall colors of brilliant golds, reds and oranges so resplendent to view as we drive back to the hotel in time to grab a little coffee and snack before the workshop. Kathy, Claire and Tracy have been there for awhile. Kris McLain has brought the flowers, Michael Davis helps Roger and all is in readiness. We hear from a few people that John’s visit to Shar Kanan’s book place, E.P. Atelier, was a rousing success earlier this afternoon. John signed books and talked for awhile, which delighted a number of the patrons there. Some of them even come to the Loving Relationships Workshop.
Tracy Uttley is a gracious Mistress of Ceremonies introducing the group to MSIA, PTS and then John Morton. John steps right up and takes us to a deeper level of looking at what is the essence of a loving relationship. With humor, insight and gentleness John has us looking at the keys of gratitude, forgiveness and unconditional loving which help bring us to the core of Loving Relationships. Afterwards John does a “Meet and Greet” visiting with the participants, signing books as hot apple cider and goodies are consumed. We staff finish packing up the equipment cases and then Roger, Kathy and I head over to the local British pub to get some hamburgers and watch some baseball. We toast a successful day of Services and workshop, and then it’s time for more packing — tomorrow we all go in different directions, and of course, a few more emails. Hmmm, sleep feels really good tonight. Thanks to Kathy for being the veritable energizer bunny and keeping on going with whatever we asked for and then some. Thanks to Claire for your sweet support, to Tracy for the hearty food, to Kris for the beautiful flowers, and Rose and Jerry for handling registration so well.
DAY 12 — ON TO EDMONTON, TORONTO, AND FOR SOME OF US, LOS ANGELES
Today our merry band of staffers and John Morton all go to different ports of call. John and Roger head back to Los Angeles. Vincent and Lesley will go as staff for the first time to Edmonton; Cleora and I fly to Toronto. For the first leg into Toronto, Cleora and I are accompanied by Lesley and Vincent, but we bid them “adieu” as we leave customs and they transit on to their flight to Edmonton. We’re greeted outside customs by Bryn Waern who drives us into town to our hotel. We’re happy for Bryn’s company and our little ride takes nearly 2 hours as we kept coming to stand-still in the traffic.
By the time we get to the hotel Cleora’s ready for bed, and I’m up for a little adventure with Kristina Beaubien, our Toronto MSIA Rep, and Eleanore, so the three of us go to dinner in The Beaches at a tiny Japanese restaurant. This is an unexpected treat getting some nurturing Japanese food and good company with Kristina and Eleanore, and we catch up a little on the business of coordinating details for tomorrow’s Services and workshop. At last my bed calls to me, and I gratefully thank my hostess, Kristina, for dinner, and surrender to sleep for this evening. Cleora is already way ahead of me.
DAY 13 — EDMONTON AND TORONTO
Well, we send Light to Lesley and Vincent, figuring they are enjoying the adventures of discovering the city of Edmonton. Cleora and I have a most lovely breakfast on the topmost floor and feel like princesses looking out onto the city of Toronto and Lake Ontario. Kristina comes to chauffeur us to her new home and we begin right away with our friends Virginia and Davee, and continue catching up with friends all over the Toronto area. Kristina’s home is warm and cozy, and she nourishes us with this divine wild rice soup for lunch.
After Services we have enough time to refresh ourselves, study our scripts over teatime and then we walk over to the YMCA for the Gratitude workshop. At the Y, Bob Newans has been setting up and preparing the space for us, Eleanore has set out products and other study materials, Sarah Bunnett-Gibson is ready at registrations. Cleora and I seem to sail in just in time to check our mics, and then we hear Bob introduce us and the workshop. One thing for sure, Gratitude is a major key to abundance, to freedom, to loving. Just talking and focusing on gratitude brings in a tenderness, joy and lightness that is profound for many of us tonight. As the participants share, I find myself being taught, and I listen eagerly. Afterwards we bask in the Spirit of the evening that seems to be glowing and radiating from participants’ eyes, then Cleora and I head for our hotel. Though it’s cold, we can’t resist walking back and seeing more of downtown. Once back in our room, I’m only too ready to get into bed tonight. Ah, sometimes it’s like that…and the computer gets a night off. Blessings to all here in Toronto and the gang in Edmonton who are having their own special workshop on Loving Relationships facilitated by Vincent.
DAY 14 — TORONTO AND EDMONTON
Today is a simple Services day. Kristina picks Cleora and me up again. Our day is happily filled with catching up with old and new friends. Lunch is around the kitchen table, laughing and buzzing as the food keeps multiplying to feed whoever comes into the kitchen. More Services this afternoon, and then we cap the day with an ordination gathering together more MSIA ministers from around town. Truly the blessings are abundant as we receive of yet another blessing via our new minister who has come up all the way from Tennessee to be ordained. With hugs and goodbyes ringing in our eyes Kristina drives us back to our hotel. We are so grateful to her and all the wonderful volunteers who supported the staff visit. We have time to pack, eat a little dinner, do a little email and then it’s on to bed early tonight for our rise and shine call is for 3AM. We’ve loved our visit to Toronto and give heartfelt thanks for all the loving and caring that came our way during the last few days. We can only imagine that Vincent and Lesley have been similarly embraced and loved by the Edmonton crew.
DAY 15 — ON TO LA AND OTHER LOCATIONS
“Oooo,” 3 AM comes quickly, but there isn’t much time to lollygag in bed. Cleora’s cab comes earlier than mine so with hugs and “byes” she takes off for the airport. I have a little more time but soon I too am in the cab headed for the airport. I’m glad we allowed time to get through check-in, immigration and customs because it takes awhile. When I finally get to the gate I have a little time to reflect on what a quick and full Midwest trip this has been. There have been blessings and growth all along the way accompanied by laughter. We are grateful again for the dedication and devotion to the Traveler’s teachings that have been demonstrated to us by our fellow MSIAers along the way. We are grateful for the Light and support of the Travelers and the MSIA and PTS staff on the homefront. Certainly when two or more gather together, something far greater comes present. Now we are back in Los Angeles preparing for our next trip that departs in 11 days to South America. Until then, we are grateful for your Light coming our way and to the Travelers as this work continues in God’s name.
