The goodbye party on Sunday evening was lovely. About 80 folks turned out to say “Farewell and have a great adventure in Buenos Aires!” My teacher, Alex Krebs, came out to the church and delighted everyone with an introductory lesson in Argentine Tango. They found him brilliant, funny and charming, as do his regular students at Tango Berretin. There was great food and drink, dancing to the sounds of the Black Magic Big Band and even a line up to dance a few seconds with “the pastor.” April, freshly back from her exchange in Denmark, showed up to present me with a Bible in Danish. There were many sweet notes of “farewell and come back refreshed” tucked into a little bag along with a few bills folks added during the line-up dance. A couple of other very thoughtful gifts will make packing easier: creams and containers-lovely. What an amazing church family! But, now the party is really over and today is when I meet with pastoral relations folks for my annual review-just 7 days before departing on sabbatical. Then comes the final cleanup of office and parsonage, especially the garage, and then the packing. Seven days and counting; one more sermon! I could use an extra week!