Breakfast, Fish and Ziplines, Oh My!

If Saturday was great and exciting then I have no idea what to label Sunday. We all know that a picture is worth 1,000 words. If you will allow me to give you some of the preceding details I will then let our pictures and videos tell most of the story. The day began with a breakfast complimentary of ABC. Katie and I woke up at 7:00, running on 6 hours of sleep. I would say that because of the previous night’s lack of sleep it was difficult to make it to breakfast. However, you all know me as one who doesn’t pass up a good meal. Tired as I was, the motivation of a growling stomach overcame drooping eyelids.

Our first official event of the day was chapel. The school does not normally host chapel on Sundays because it encourages students to be involved in local churches. However this morning was an exception for the purpose of allowing the new students to meet and spend time together. We enjoyed the preaching of President Anderson, a brilliant preacher and then proceeded to lunch. They tend to feed us a lot here, it’s definitely best that I don’t have a school meal plan or else I would need a fuller keyboard to accommodate my plus size fingers to continue writing these posts.

After lunch we went to Servant’s Staff seminar #1. The Servant’s Staff is the name of the rulebook for ABC campus life. Personally I am not one for rules as I find them offensive to my young and immature nature. Joking, of course. On most Christian campuses the rules can be overdone and very limiting. At ABC they have a very good balance of basic rules and leaving the gray areas to our individual convictions. This first seminar gave us an introductory look at the guidelines we need to abide by.

Then came the fun at 3:00 with “Activities with Alpine Adventures.” Alpine Adventure is a camp area which is associated with the college. To our benefit the staff at ABC are very interested in involving the students in the Alpine ministries area on campus. At this point I give you the pictures.

Me, apparently confounded by the cryptic design of a climbing harness.


Me again, ascending to great and unknown heights.


A proud, but shaky man reaches the top at last.


Katie, excited to take a crack at the rock wall.


Wouldn't it be funny if this was as far as she got?


Fortunately she made if to the top and repelled her way back down. Right about the point of this picture she knocked her knee on the wood and now has a bruise to show for it.


Katie brags about how she can back flip off of this ladder with no effort. I'm kidding of course, it seemed like a dull picture so I needed to spice it up.


Several strong fellows pull a rope to lift Katie to this highest point. They are told to brace themselves and she can then pull the ripcord and fall.


Katie comes flying towards a tree on her first swing. In her mind she exclaims "woohoo."


Awesome video of me on the big swing.


Can you see me flying like a retarded superman?


The zipline concludes with a back-skid into fishy water. The fish actually move aside as you walk to shore. None of those skiddish yankee fish down here, these water-dwellers are bold if you don't have a hook.


With all the water pouring off of me I actually smelled sweat from the helmet, not fish. Makes you want to go ziplining right now, doesn't it?


The video of Katie flying down the line. The dialogue at the end is funny. Katie didn't want to touch the bottom of the pond so she tried swimming to shore. She obviously forgot that before land water gets too shallow to swim.


Me playing the very interesting game of human fooseball. It is what it sounds like and while it is fun it also kills your hands.


Katie and I still soggy from the pond have our friend Rodney take a picture before dinner.

After all this we had an evening getting to know the President and faculty. We are having a ton of fun this week but we are very busy. We go out early and don't get back until late. When classes start Wednesday everything should become normal, whatever that may be. I hope to post on Wednesday night letting everyone know how the first day of school has gone. If it gets crazier than I expect then perhaps I will wait until Thursday. Thanks for reading. Pray extra hard for us these next few days as we set the pattern for our whole first semester.