Okay, so what you need to know is this: 1. Timberlake is a town in north central South Dakota. 2. While there is, technically, a “lake” there is noooooo timber. 3. It is kinda in the middle of no where. 4. Fr. C. was reassigned there this July.
Because of Father and how he loves us and we love him, when he asked Jac to come up to the parish centenial to take photos, we said “SURE!” We said yes without knowing exactly where or how far we were going. We’d figure that out later.We were going to Timberlake!
When Jac’s glasses broke literally minutes before we were supposed to leave, we panicked for a moment but when we started breathing again, we called the eye doctor and then we were going to Timberlake!
Unstoppable? Yes, that’s us!
Three and a half hours later we were in Timberlake along with the majority of the country side. The whole town was celebrating 100 years and every nook and cranny screamed it was the place to be. Tents filled every lawn and the dirt streets throughout town were lined with cars. Again, we didn’t know where we were headed, but with a small town and a live concert happening at the parish, we figured we’d find it.
As he hopped out of the car to greet Fr., Philip announced, “That was a looooooong trip!”
But in the end we all agreed it was worth it.
How often, after all, do you get to celebrate 100 years of anything? There was a concert and a tour of the old school, mass with the Bishop and a blessing with a relic of the true cross. The true cross, friends! Afterwards, we walked main street and Fr. treated us to supper in a tent with sawdust on the floor. Perhaps the best moment of the day was the kids following the Bishop with their hotdogs in hand and sitting down to pray and eat while the rest of the adults tried to figure out details like drinks and seats and such.
Thanks, Padre, for the invite. We hope to get back up in your neck of the non-woods again soon!
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