Prologue

G'day blog readers! The Rural Ministry Immersion trip of 2009 is about to begin! This year I get to be the one to tell its story (via the internet anyway), so I suppose I should probably introduce myself. 

My name is Rory Phillips. I was born in McCook, Nebraska and was raised in Omaha. I went to college in Fort Worth, Texas at Texas Christian University and got a degree in religion with a minor in Spanish. I've traveled to China, Tibet, Canada, Tonga, Australia, lived in New Zealand, and spent time on coffee cooperatives in Nicaragua. Last year I was in the Lutheran Volunteer Corps and lived a simple life on the north side of Chicago, serving an urban congregation as the youth director. Now I'm a junior seminarian at the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago, looking to become a pastor. Traveling is in my blood, and I'm excited to do a bit of it back in my home state of Nebraska.

These past two days we've been in class here in Chicago preparing ourselves for this trip through reading, discussion, and eating. (Have to build up a nice layer of fat to keep us warm in the Nebraska winter!) We've talked about the realities of livestock production, farming, water rights, and diesel engines. We've discussed the finer points of rural culture (like how everybody knows everybody and it sometimes feels like a fishbowl). We've breezed through Nebraska's geography, history, and sociological landscape. We've hammered out the logistics and we are ready to go! I for one am ready to get out of the classroom and into the fields. 

Peter Vethanayagamony (10 points if you can pronounce his name on the first try) and Kelli Wilder discussing our final project in class.

Now I just hope I wake up in time for our 7am start... history tells me that's going to be mighty difficult tomorrow morning.