Ned Erickson: UPDATE Week 7 Year 1

Good news! We survived our first broken bone and our first hurricane!

Susannah, David, Wesley, Anna Rose and Thomas surviving the hurricane

UNCOMMON MONDAY

With tears in my eyes I said my good-byes to Doug and Jen Wittenberg and family and walked on the red eye back to North Carolina. We landed and I made it back to our house in time to take the kids to school, go to the office, write an update, attend a few meetings, go for a short run and arrive at Redeemer Presbyterian Church to help host the second Uncommon Family: Purposeful Listening conversation about race.

The Fellows were amazing. Nine of the eleven were there. Campbell Anderson and Alex Loy, the two Fellows who actually go to Redeemer were out of commission - Alex with a fever and Campbell with a broken leg!!! Yes. A broken leg!!!

Me and Campbell the day before surgery

Campbell was hanging out with some of his high school buddies last Friday and SNAP. Two bones in his ankle.

Jessica and Julia and Campbell post surgery

All signs point to a full recovery.

(However, the camping trip that we had planned to go on next weekend has been moved to a stationary location)

Back to Uncommon Family. It was so cool to watch the Fellows serve a church where none of them attend. That's the beautiful thing about this program. We are all one Church and we live and serve that way...

Will and Reese almost convinced me to go out with them for a late night beer and pizza, but I managed to resist temptation and go to bed.

A PAINFUL HOPE (and MIC)

On Thursday, the Fellows traveled to Greensboro to the Civil Rights Museum to attend a conversation about the Israeli/Palestinian conflict.

Probably the highlight of the night was the introduction Frank McCain Jr. gave. He is the son of one of the men who took up a seat at the Woolworth's Store in the 1960s. Wow! I need to get to know this man. (Can anyone connect me?)

Rabbi Hanan and Ali Awwad were pretty impressive too. There were microphone problems that severely hampered the audience's experience. Nevertheless, it was a great introduction for these Fellows to some of the deeper challenges our world faces.

Afterward, Will and the gang did talk me into some late night fun.

Nothing like playing pterodactyl at Natty Greene's

It was a great evening. Earlier, Will also introduced us to Yum Yum's pink hotdogs and heaping helpings of ice cream. The dogs were not as good as Pulliams. But the ice cream was top notch.

Dakota demonstrating proper ice cream eating technique

A FEW THANK YOUS

Thank you to Andrew Boyd for being our Leadership Lunch speaker this week. Thank you First Pres for hosting. Thank you Faye Horwitt and Patti Stanford for meeting with me, and thank you Jen Brown for introducing us. Thank you Tara Stokes, Keith Vest, Erika Quaile, Ella Long and Will Waldorf for the tremendous encouragement this week.

Will Waldorf, professor of Political Science at Wake Forest, on Friday, led us in one of the best dialogues on politics I have ever been a part of.

Tara and Keith are two of our Employers. Both indicated that they want to hire more Fellows in the future!

Ella Long of Reynolds American will be our Leadership speaker this Wednesday.

Erika Quaile is a development director for Hope International, a micro-finance company. You should check them out!

FELLOWS SERVANT WEEKEND

Camille, Sarabeth, Reese, Alex and Will

Five of our Fellows headed to Windy Gap with Forsyth County Young Life to volunteer for their fall outreach weekend. Camille and Reese did Work Crew. Sarabeth, Alex and Will were in cabins, serving as leaders.

They were simultaneously exuberant and exhausted when I picked them up from the buses on Sunday.

Meanwhile, Sean Henderson and Rahel Tafese were leaders at Camp Hanes with the River Oaks Community Church Youth.

MEANWHILE, Dakota Lee and Julia Lovett attended Salem Pres' new member retreat. Then, Julia and Jessica took care of Campbell Anderson (after first going to the Foothills Tasting Room for a Yoga and Beer class)

I'm so proud of these Fellows for how they have jumped into life here in Winston-Salem, for the way they serve this community, and the way they love each other.

QUICK UPDATE: Jessica bought a car this week!

(For those of you are wondering about Christina - she went to Wheaton for Homecoming)

As for the Ericksons, we had plans to go to Charleston, South Carolina for the weekend (it's our children's fall break) to visit with friends like Cooper and Beth Williams. Unfortunately, Charleston had a little problem this weekend called Hurricane Matthew.

So on Wednesday, the Williams came to us!

A little calm in the storm of a rainy day with five crazy children

So this weekend, we fled to higher ground.

Cave Rock Community Church

THIS WEEK

Tonight, we are heading to Chris and Virginia Perry's house for Round Table.
Wednesday, Ella Long will be our speaker for Leadership Lunch, which is being hosted at Forsyth Country Day School (Thanks Garnder!)
Wednesday and Thursday, I am helping to lead the Leadership Winston-Salem Opening Retreat. I have several big roles this year, so pray for me!!!
Friday after class, we are heading to Camp Merri-Mac, (Thanks Andrew and Mary Page Boyd!) for our Fall Advance! It's been six weeks since our last weekend together as Fellows, so it's time!

In other news,

We have started our annual fundraising push. Our goal is $40,000 in pledges and support to come in by November 1.

Give Online at http://www.wsfellows.com/give/
Or Mail Checks to WS Fellows. 851 W. 5th Street. Winston-Salem, NC 27101

Please pray for my friend Doug. The day after I left and this picture was taken, the tumors swelled to the point that he was having trouble eating and breathing. By Tuesday, he had to have a tracheotomy and a feeding tube put in. I am totally devastated. Although Lia and others assure me that my trip had nothing to do with it, and that it was actually God's grace that allowed us to spend an amazing forty-eight hours together - I still am struggling with how painful the days have been since my visit. Please, Lord, please have mercy on my friend.