Arriving in Indiana

Yesterday afternoon I arrived in Indianapolis for the General Assembly. Two days ago, I discovered that I would be sharing my flight with a pastor friend from southern California and her husband. Then, when we stopped in Denver for our layover, several church friends from northern California joined us, and we all journeyed the rest of the way to Indianapolis on the same flight.

Exiting the plane in Indianapolis, I almost didn't see the General Assembly logo on the floor of the jetway, even though I walked over it as I made my way into the terminal. In the terminal, I immediately ran into other friends I knew who had just arrived on other flights.

Last night, I stayed with friends. On the way to their house, I kept my eyes open, and sure enough, just as we were leaving the airport, I saw a giant billboard with the Assembly logo.

Behind their house is a small creek, and I enjoyed watching the lightning bugs as night fell. In conversation, we were discussing various restaurants in Indiana, when I mentioned that one or two fast-food places in California sell churros. "What are churros?" they asked. I thought they were joking, but they weren't. I lived in Indiana for 3 1/2 years when I was in seminary, but somehow never noticed that there are no churros here.

So, no churros. But they do have lightning bugs, which are pretty cool. And this morning, I saw something else that we don't have in southern California: wet stuff, falling from the sky. They call it rain.