Tuesday, September 30, 2008

As Easy As A Pizza Box

It’s been good to see Katie’s family this week, we’ve actually had some spare time to spend with them. Last week and the weekend were very productive so I was able to catch up and get ahead in all my homework. This week I hardly have anything to do outside of class aside from regular studying. A light workload has been sort of nice because it gives spare time to spend with the family. On the other hand I feel it lulling me into a false sense of security so that next week…...BAM…...school can hit me like a lead glove. I’m being extra careful to stay caught up on everything. Monday night we went around shopping (more like looking) and I had this feeling of panic the whole time like I was missing my school work. I got home on Monday night and checked all my books and syllabi, but I was right on track. Homework is a sly creature to me, one minute there’s none and next thing I know I have three projects due the next week. I won’t fall for it this time though.

We got our first care package from my mom. She sent us cereal, brownies, cookies and pictures of Lily. The food was good and is half gone, Lily is growing by the minute and prettier than ever. If you know Lily then you understand what I mean. Mom was very creative and traced the kids hands onto the package with a message from each of them.

Tuesday night Katie, Tess and I bought Little Caesars pizza and played Skip Bo. We had a lot of fun, even with the pizza box. Tess couldn’t figure out how to close it properly and we weren’t going to settle for a mediocre pizza box so we coached her through it. Two and a half minutes later she successfully closed it and is now a better person for having weathered that storm.

This weekend we may be going to the Beckley chili cook off with some friends. Vendors and personal chefs set up stands and dispense bite size portions of their best chili. We then walk around like great connoisseurs and give our opinion of each. We’ll let you know how it goes.

Prayer Request
Monday we heard that someone who works in the mall committed suicide over the weekend. It was a bit odd for us to think that someone whose drink we were filling up last week was in such despair that he took his life. Also on Monday one of our managers called out for her night shift because her cousin died. It wasn’t until today that we found out that our fellow manager’s cousin was the man who committed suicide. It was a bit sobering to realize how many people are around us daily that need Jesus. All we see are the smiles and laughs, but you never know what’s going on in a person’s heart. Please pray for the family involved, that they would turn to Christ for comfort in all this.

Saturday, September 27, 2008

A Trekkie Of Sorts


This is the Beckley sky at sunset, beautiful. The weather here amazes me, I love how the sun always shines when it rains.

Well today I finished a paper for my pastoral ministries class, it isn’t due until next Thursday which makes this the soonest I’ve finished any of my papers before a deadline. I plan on making this a habit since procrastination is bad for my beauty rest. Anyway, I had to write it on “Taking Back the Good Book” a book by Woodrow Kroll on Bible illiteracy in America. I was amazed when the school year started three weeks ago that we had to read an entire book right away. It doesn’t seem that big of a deal now that I’ve completed it. But you can imagine my reaction when I got a syllabus which prescribed reading one full book and writing three research papers in the first month. I really enjoyed the reading so it was no trouble to fly through it. Also it is for my favorite class, an added bonus. Foundations of pastoral ministries is my favorite class because it has my favorite teacher, Dr. Carfrey. He’s a stout man in his early sixties. I don’t think I’m the only one in the class that admires him this much. Dr. Carfrey is exceptionally knowledgeable and very able to preach. For example, last week someone started a discussion at the beginning of class about the charismatic movement. He pushed back the regular lesson for forty minutes while he pumped out a full sermon to us, never losing his place, stopping to think or lacking words. I admire a man who knows the Bible well enough that he can preach a sermon at a moments notice. I sat there taking in all I could and probably drooling all I could at the same time. Sometimes I feel like my pastors class is the Christian equivalent of a bunch of trekkies. We find preaching fascinating and talk about it any chance we get, we even have pastors jokes. If you’re wondering what a pastor’s joke sounds like, don’t, they are just odd. I appreciate Dr. Carfrey and having the opportunity to learn from him.

Katie’s parents are coming on Monday. We are looking forward to seeing some of our family. We miss everyone a lot but traveling is practically impossible with gas prices being so high and my amount of school work. Hopefully we can make the trip all the way up to Maryland within the next few months.

Thursday, September 25, 2008

Judas And I

On Wednesday instead or our normal chapel service we had class meetings to elect student council. Just so you know, I’ve had an interest in being class president for a little while now. I assumed that the format would be those who were interested would nominate themselves, not so. The candidates for President, vice president, treasurer and secretary had to be nominated by a fellow classmate and that nomination had to be seconded for them to be in the running. I was a little disappointed with this set up because I am not well known in my class yet. I’m in the married housing on lower campus, the dorms are way on the opposite side of campus. I don’t eat in the cafeteria like dorm students do and I don’t get to participate in some of the events they do. Thus, I haven’t had as many social opportunities as the typical student. I was not nominated for president or vice president but don’t worry, a lack of socialization has not held me back completely. I was nominated for treasurer and about 12 people raised their hand to second it. Three other nominees and I then had to leave the room for the vote. Long story short, I won. This was much to my surprise but I suppose that even a significant socialization disadvantage as I have cannot hold me back. No, no, my presence supersedes the friendship barrier of a full campus length and secures relationships on it’s own. Being serious though, this has worked out good because I can see what is involved in the student council without too much obligation so when next year comes I know if I still want to be class president. The people voted into the other offices are friends of mine so student council looks like it will be fun for this year. If you are wondering about the title for this post “Judas and I” it came from my father-in-law who, when hearing of my election, said “well now you and Judas Iscariot have something in common.”

School is going incredible, I’m learning more than ever. My hermeneutics class is especially interesting. We are going through principles of Bible interpretation. I once thought of interpretive principles as complicated and official but in reality they teach you that the Bible was written to communicate a clear message to a specific audience. It isn’t supposed to be mystified or read into, we just need to read without our preconceived notions and let God’s word teach us. It doesn’t take a college professor to interpret the bible but apparently it helps to have one teach you how. The steps are as simple as 1) observation 2) interpretation 3) application but we need to be taught to discipline our minds in these. So often I try to read the Bible and make applications right away. But observations followed by a proper interpretation must come first. Well, that’s just me pawning some of my college knowledge off on you, hope you don’t mind.

Katie has suggested that we involve everyone in the college experience a little more. To do so, we are posting one of my recent papers. It will make this post seem a bit lengthy so if your not much of a reader you can tune out here. This paper didn’t flow from the pen of Charles Dickens but it represents a good effort on my part at this point in my learning. It also tells the interesting story of some missionaries that were kidnapped back in 1993. Ladies and gentlemen, for your reading pleasure I give you my paper:

A Christian is a person who exemplifies in his or her life the teachings of Christ. The story of Rick Tenenoff, Dave Mankins and Mark Rich seems to truly embody this definition. The teaching of Christ to take up our crosses daily and follow him is exemplified both by the men as missionaries and their wives as faithful women.
Rick Tenenoff was born September 23, 1956 in Los Angeles, California. He and his wife first visited Panama in 1986. Then one and a half years later they returned to begin a ministry to the Kuna people. Rick spent his early years there studying the language, a rare dialect which less than 1,000 people know in that region. He also used his time to compile a dictionary which he had completed up to the letter “T” before his abduction. Dave Mankins, born March 16, 1949 in Susanville, California moved to Pucuro (the team’s specific town of ministry) in 1986 with New Tribes Missionaries. He translated Bible lessons into the Kuna language, Dulegaya. Mark Rich was born September 5, 1969 in Mollendo, Peru. Rich arrived in Pucuro in August of 1992 to begin studying the language and culture.
Tenenoff, Mankins and Rich had been ministering with their families in this town of Pucuro, comprised of about 300 people. Pucuro is a small part of Kuna, a town located in the Darien jungles of Panama. The area in itself is not a violent place. In fact, the people of Kuna are part of an undisturbed culture in Panama which has not succumbed to modernization and technological advances. While the town itself is peaceful it lies only 10 miles from the Columbian border, a country that is at least 40% controlled by guerillas.
Sunday September 31, 1993 began with success for the missions group as they conducted a Bible meeting which 28 indigenous people attended. No doubt their day was filled with praises to God for a fruitful morning. They couldn’t know that their lives would be changed within a few hours and their faith would be tested beyond the limits of their imagination. On a warm Sunday night Dave Mankins, the missionary who had inhabited the area longest, stretched out in a hammock next to his front door listening to the news on a radio. His wife Nancy settled in for the evening with a good book. As the story goes, three men wearing camouflage suddenly busted through the screen door with machine guns in hand. Dave, clearly surprised by the entrance, sprung up only to be knocked down with the blow of a machine gun butt to the head. As the assailants held their guns to Dave’s head they began making demands of Nancy. She recalled her New Tribes training to remain calm and compliant so she followed their orders to gather three changes of clothes and some other items for Dave. As she stuffed his belongings into a bag the men tied Dave’s hands behind his back. After securing Mr. Mankins as well as some choice items from the home they marched outside and fired one shot into the air. The sound of two guns in the distance echoed the signal which told Nancy that her husband was not the only one in danger.
The two accompanying shots belonged to the houses of Rick Tenenoff and Mark Rich. Rick Tenenoff had also been relaxing in a hammock while his wife, Patti, was putting their two youngest children to bed. After hearing a scuffle, Patti peered down the hallway to see her husband being bound by similar men. In Spanish, they ordered her to pack some of Rick’s belongings which she did immediately, including a Bible and family photo. In like manner more men crashed into the Rich’s home to extract Mark right after his wife Tania had laid their two young girls to bed.
At the time of the crime Dave Mankins was only 43, Rick Tenenoff 36 and Mark Rich 23. The overwhelmed wives met at the Tenenoff’s house with the image of their husbands being drug off, hands bound, into the jungle fresh in their mind. They struggled to focus their minds and make sense of the evening’s events. Nancy had suggested that they travel from the remote village to a nearby town for help. However, the trip (by boat) was dangerous at night and they learned from some of the neighbors that the insurgents pronounced a death threat upon anyone attempting to leave Pucuro that night. The ladies were convinced of this danger when they were informed that over 100 men had surrounded the village that night to aid in the kidnapping. What terror and feelings of helplessness must have barraged their minds that night as they had nothing to do but wait for morning and wonder what was happening. We do not know for certain but can imagine that they stayed awake all night with tears in their eyes and prayers on their hearts.
When the morning sun emerged they gathered the children and headed by canoe to the closest town with an airport, approximately 7 hours away. From that town the New Tribes Mission agency had them flow back to the U.S. for safety and debriefing. One of the kidnappers had assured Patti Tenenoff she would see her husband soon. They also made the assumption that “soon” would be in three day because they only had to pack three outfits. The weary ladies waited for word from the captors under the assumption that they may be returned soon, none came.
Time passed by with new leads popping up as New Tribes and the local governments investigated the abduction but all came to dead ends. The women waited for years to hear some good news, hopeful with every ring of the telephone. Unfortunately the story does not have the happy ending one would hope for. The three young missionaries were never found, dead or alive, and no solid word was given of their demise. The New Tribes mission board and each of the wives came to the realization at different times that the men would never return. Throughout the investigation the authorities extracted several vague details from various ex-guerillas and prisoners. Putting all of the details together they deduced that the men had been killed in mid 1996. We don’t know much of anything about the men during their captivity except that they were kept in decent conditions and spent much time together fellowshipping and reading the Bible. It is believed that they were executed near Acandi (a village in Northwest Columbia) only 15 miles from Pucuro. When Columbian troops closed in on the insurgents it is said that they executed the men so they wouldn’t have to flee with additional baggage. However, the bodies were never found in the dense jungle.
Since we cannot know the specifics of the struggles these men endured we turn to their wives to see faith in action. For almost 8 years the brave women kept their hope that they would once again be united with their husbands. We can find the testimony of an enormous amount of faith in this fact. The amount of trust it must take to hold on to that hope. True, they may have had no other choice than waiting, but to face discouragement every day and still trust God at night is incredible. It is hard to even fathom how hard they must have clung to Christ for comfort because they knew only he could provide both for them and for their husbands.
In time the ladies learned that life would go on if they would permit it. Thankfully all three of them did and they continue to serve Christ to this day through New Tribes Missions. Mankins and Tenenoff are speakers for NTM, encouraging others with their faith. Rich is a schoolteacher for NTM children. Mankins has even written a book detailing these events called “Hostage: The Incredible True Story of the Kidnapping of Three American Missionaries.” What an encouragement that these women could have the most precious people on earth taken from them while doing work for God and still know that He is sovereign.
Mrs. Rich has said "This whole ordeal brought me to the realization that I had to believe in the truth of the Bible or else deny God. I don't believe God wastes pain." A storm came through the life of Tania Rich, waves and wind crashed against her but she was rooted in the firm foundation of God’s word so she stood strong. The same can be said of the other women because if they had not built their lives on Christ the rock they surely would not have endured such great tragedy.
This story has great implications for present day believers. We never know what terrors might attack our lives but building them on the same foundation as these women will enable us to withstand whatever attacks may overcome us. Our hearts, minds and daily lives must be staked in God’s Word, all other ground is shifting sand. We can also see the encouragement to remain faithful. When trials test our patience and we think the world will end, we must only think upon their example and trust God to carry us through. Finally, not only do we see that God will carry us through but that we can flourish afterward and even be used for his glory. It is an amazing testimony that these women not only kept their private faith in Christ but serve him in full time ministry. Only God can do such things with humans and only if we let him.

Tuesday, September 23, 2008

Dinner And A Movie

Tuesday evening we finally found rest. It had gone hiding somewhere and we hadn’t seen it for over a week. What I mean to say is the past week has been particularly busy. Especially the weekend. Katie and I worked on Friday from 1-7 then went to the married student movie night. It was very nice but unfortunately it pushed all of my homework into Saturday. On Saturday we had to work 8-4 then I spent most of the evening on school. Sunday was the same, we went to the church services and in between was filled with homework for Monday as well as two projects due at the beginning of the week. On Monday I had school, then work from 1-6, then 4 hours of homework that night. I don’t say all this so you will feel sorry for me, I say it because it gives context to Tuesday evening.
We hardly had any free time this past weekend and Monday night was completely booked so, on Tuesday since I had no work and Katie worked until 4:00 I exploited the opportunity to do all my school work and get ahead for the week. I accomplished all this and even had time to clean up the house before Katie got home. When she finally arrived I had a bag of Reese’s Pieces as a present for her and the good news that the rest of the night was ours to spend together. We went to Outback Steakhouse and feasted on a bloomin’ onion and soup. Afterward we wandered about Wal Mart, the premier shopping center in Beckley. We finished the night with an episode of Gilmore Girls.
We’ve had considerable trouble getting Katie’s car inspected here. The mechanic we took it to wasn’t even able to diagnose the problem it has. He recommended we take it to a dealer, we plan to but our appointment isn't until October 7th. We still need to get my car inspected and I’m in desperate need of an eye exam but the soonest anyone in the area can see me is October 3rd. Please pray for us in these things specifically if you have the time. Katie and I are thankful for God’s grace on my recent tests and papers, most have been very good grades and the rare few that aren’t serve to encourage better studying.


Matt, after a four hour study session

Saturday, September 20, 2008

Father Winter Gains A Foothold

Cold seems to have finally set in up in the mountains of West Virginia. I say finally because we have had false alarms with the last month. Two weeks ago it started getting cold, it was sixty degrees one day then ninety the next. It was as if father winter had started climbing up our mountain but half way up the sun shone in his face and he fell back down. I speak for the entire ABC campus when I say this (yes i have that authority) I sure hope it stays cold. I've always been a fan of summer but down here, where I have to wear dress pants all day, I'm begging for coolness.

Thursday my foundations of pastoral ministries class had a guest from Detroit Baptist Theological Seminary come to visit. He actually spoke to us during lunch time which entitled me to a free meal at the cafeteria. I was very excited about that. For the readers who don’t know much about what a seminary is, your in good company. Basically, if I decide to take my education further after graduation from ABC with a B.A. I would go to a seminary for masters and possibly doctorate courses. I like the idea of going as far as I can with my education, but I have to try hard to pace myself. When I think about going to ABC for four years I’m fine. But when I think about going somewhere else for an additional four or more then it feels like Jared from the Subway commercials is sitting on my head. The old Jared, before Subway worked wonders on his waistline. One step at a time, we just need to enjoy ABC for now, who knows what the future may hold?

Friday we enjoyed a married student movie night. All the couples and families got together outside to enjoy a bonfire. Afterward we projected Monsters Inc. onto the side of a house. Don't worry, it was one of our houses. Katie and I had a great time, I think I enjoyed it more because I am still very entertained by children's movies. I may be learning a college intellect but my sense of humor has changed little since elementary school.

Some have questioned our ability to maintain this blog in the midst of a full school and work schedule. We try hard to post on here often because we enjoy sharing our lives with everyone. Time has been restricted lately, even rationed, but whenever we have the opportunity Katie and I sit down to type out what’s been happening to us. We hope you enjoy this as much as we do.

Monday, September 15, 2008

Strange Encounters

I would like to say that the brainstorm that has become known as "MattGoesToCollege" has been very successful. Katie and I enjoy posting on here very much. We look forward to having time to sit down and share our lives with everyone. I type out the post then Katie proof reads it, tells me where it doesn't make sense and helps me add humor. We typically have between 11 and 15 visitors per day. We track our visits to see who is interested in reading about us and occasionally we notice that some stranger has stumbled upon our blog. Just yesterday we had someone from the city of Ajax in Ontario, Canada find our blog when they googled "why pop sound when frog gets run over." We had a visitor from London, England who googled "frog finger puppet movie productions." Similarly, we had someone from Georgia google "finger puppets at Dollar Tree." A while back we had someone from the Netherlands find our site by searching for "bowl cut." It always interesting to have people from all parts of the globe come to our page.

Sunday Katie and I indulged in the simplicity of a date to Dairy Queen. We haven't been spending any money lately, but needed some time out to go on a date. We pushed school and work out of our minds and proceeded to the local calorie emporium. I made a change and went for a medium chocolate/peanut butter milkshake instead of the usual mocha moolatte. I must recommend both as superior choices for those with a mature palette. We both had eyes larger than our stomachs and only finished half of our milkshakes. I've not recalled this event to dazzle you with our ice cream choices, instead, we found something else at Dairy Queen interesting. For our entire visit we noticed a strange woman standing beside a table in the back of the restaurant. At first we thought she was waiting for someone to come out of the restroom or pondering something. But after about 15 minutes straight of no movement it became obvious that her stilted figure was either dead or absent of mind. I had my back turned to her the whole time but Katie was basically facing her. It must have been odd for Katie to have the bewildered woman almost staring at her the entire time she sipped her chocolate desert. I sure do wonder what was going through that lady's troubled mind "banana split or caramel mudslide?" Maybe she had already eaten and was in a chocolate coma. I imagine i look like i'm in a chocolate coma when i wake up for school some mornings.

We are waiting for word on Katie's car which we have left at a nearby garage for inspection. Her poor bonneville is being held hostage by some oily fellow who can't find time to fix it. There is some kind of sensor malfunction on the front left tire. We expect him to return it if we meet his demands, most likely an arm and a leg. I never realized how attached we were to our mechanic in Baltimore. There is some kind of deep-rooted psycological dependance on mechanics. It's a need-based relationship. You need them to fix your car and keep you mobile and they need someone pay the cable bill. Somehow this relationship seems lopsided.

The first full week of school has come and gone and now I embark on the second. Thanks for tuning in.

Friday, September 12, 2008

Who Needs Free Time When You Have Vocab Cards?


The waves are calm and all is well. I received the results from three tests today. Two of the tests were from Bible Doctrine Overview, both were 100%. The third was from Grammar and it was a 106% (I got the bonus questions correct). While this is nice, panic in the coming week is very much inevitable. Up to this point I have been given assignments for 4 projects already. Two of which are due this Tuesday. One is nearly complete, the other I must do tomorrow. I’m a natural born procrastinator, but feel God has helped me restrain those desires and keep up on my work very well. Between school and Chick-Fil-A my free time is basically a few hours per week. All work and no play makes Katie an unhappy wife. Kidding, she is being very supportive despite the lack of free time we have together. She actually helps me study whenever she can (usually with my vocabulary) that‘s how we spend time together lately. Who would have thought English Grammar could be good for our marriage?

I still love school and love the area. I feel in my element when I’m learning all day long and Beckley truly is home. When we arrived over a month ago we couldn’t have imagined how well we would fit into the town and the campus family. While we do not lack in fellowship or love down here I do greatly miss our families, separated by hundreds of miles of asphalt. We really look forward to visiting Virginia and Maryland as soon as we can. I don’t ask much except, when we return to Baltimore, we require that we be utterly lavished with love, food and festivities. I thank you for your understanding in advance.

Keep me in your prayers as I chip away at a Bachelor of Arts degree in Bible and Theology. Remember Katie in your prayers, specifically that she can start school next year and that the Lord occupies her time until then. We have no T.V. still so she spends a lot of time reading. Katie reads nearly twice as fast as me, she’s almost a freak of nature, at this rate she will have read through every book in the house by February. Then what would she do? I’ve bought her a key chain today, it has this message on the front and back: “See how to keep a speed-reader busy (turn over).” She’s spent the last few hours on that but I don’t think it will hold her for long.

Wednesday, September 10, 2008

Hillary Clinton's Plumb

My last few posts have been very exciting to write, maybe because it is a break from studying or perhaps I just have so much to tell everyone. School is still going great although today was a bit disheartening. I had a quiz in my first class of the day, hermeneutics, which I got an answer wrong on. Not a big deal now that I think about it, but this morning it didn’t seem that way because I’ve spent so much time studying and reading for all my classes. The day got a little bit worse when I showed up for English grammar and realized I had completely forgotten to do one of my homework assignments. I did one of the exercises but forgot another for the class. You probably would have thought I was on my way to a funeral after that. I’ve been studying like crazy so it’s difficult to see myself not getting everything right. As usual, if you know my personality, I mellowed out in a little time and got back on the horse. I see today as a lesson to improve my study habits and realize that despite my best efforts I am not perfect.

I’ve worked out a special college analogy just for your reading entertainment. Tuesday I tried whey protein for the first time which is a supplement to replenish protein in your body and help you build muscle after exercising. Ideally it should be mixed into milk but can be mixed into water to be ingested. Katie and I were out of milk in the house but I wanted to try this substance and begin to reap the benefits of bigger muscles. Note: just because the carton says it “can” be mixed into water doesn’t mean it should be. After the first sip I realized the chocolate flavored health additive had quite the aftertaste. Following gulps only intensified the horrible sensation. I am persistent and I was determined to get that protein down so I held my nose and chugged the rest of it. Which, of course, brought me very close to vomiting back into the cup. I have found this experience to be very similar to that of English Grammar. Now, I don’t say this to sound cruel. I actually had this analogy worked out before I missed my assignment. Anyway, I don’t particularly like grammar nor did I like the taste of whey protein. But I recognize them as something that can help and strengthen me. The protein in muscle building, and the grammar in hulking up my writing skills to improve my posting here. In the end you just have to hold your nose, chug them both and hope you don’t heave it back up.

Keeping the subject on grammar, I would like everyone to know that my vocabulary is truly growing. Each week for grammar class we have 20 new vocabulary words to memorize along with their proper definition. I actually enjoy learning new words and anticipate employing them in my verbal arsenal. However, some seem a little less than useful. I thought of trying to employ them in my post but I think using some of these words would just confuse everyone. Here are some examples: Gyration-A revolving action around an axis. Interstices-Narrow spaces between things. Fortuitous-Happening by chance. Aphorism-A terse saying embodying truth. Aplomb-Self Assurance. I must stop there to say that in order to memorize the definitions I associate the words with pictures in my mind. The word “aplomb” means self assurance and I have found a picture of Hilary Clinton on stage waving a plumb to be an accurate picture. This imagery allowed me to capture the definition in my memory fairly quickly. What are some pictures you would concoct in your head to help you remember words?

Wow, I must be going it is past my bedtime. Luckily my Thursday classes don’t start until 9:00. Keep Katie and I in your prayers. She is doing great and enjoying school, we are really hoping she can go full time next year. Don’t forget, if you haven’t subscribed your e-mail address yet you can do it with the appropriate box on the right.

Sunday, September 7, 2008

Cross Dressers and Ping Pong

I would like to say that a large workload from college courses has kept me busy for the past few days so that I couldn’t post an update until now. However, the truth is I spent the last 72 hours tracing the perimeter of the White House to protect our nation’s highest officials from an impending alien attack.

Well enough of that, let me fill you in on what’s has happened to us lately. We started work at Chick-Fil-A on Thursday afternoon and worked Friday and Saturday as well. It has gone fine so far, the store here is considerably smaller than our previous one. The Beckley store will do less in a full day than the one in Baltimore does from 12:00-1:00. The food and service and the restaurant here are of a notably lower quality and reputation. But for that reason the operator hired us in as managers to help turn the store around. It’s both frustrating and exciting at this point.

An interesting (perhaps scary) story, Saturday morning Katie was running the front of the store and I was in the back stocking certain items. As I’m pulling lettuce out of the refrigerator some person in their street clothes walks into the back of the store. I say person because I did not know if it was a man or a woman. None of the employees seemed to mind so I figured it was a friend of one of the workers. After the very butch looking woman left the back Katie came to see me. She said to me softly “you gotta come out front there’s this weird person asking for free food and I don’t feel safe.” When I came out it was this same person that had spooked me only a moment ago. Apparently they let the cross dressing truck driver come back and get whatever food he wants. Yes, it was a “he,” that became apparent when he spoke in a voice much deeper than my own. It was awkward and comical to meet a person with short-shorts, pink toenails and a voice as deep as Barry White.

School is going great, homework is a little heavy, but I enjoy every bit of it. I cannot fully convey how much I enjoy school through written text, you have to see the big smile on my face. I’m excited to learn more about God every hour of the day. Katie is loving school no less than myself, in fact, it saddens her that she can only take one class this semester. We are eagerly awaiting the opportunity for her to go to school full time. We hope that will be next fall, but of course expenses would double and income would drop significantly if she goes full time. She tried soliciting her father’s help because back in 2005, when Katie was looking at attending Washington Bible College, he would have helped pay for school. He responded with a chuckle of unforeseen proportion.

We spent our Friday and Saturday night hanging out with Dan and Jennifer until midnight. It’s bad for our sleeping habits but good for our hearts to have friends that we enjoy spending that much time with. We did everything from playing an old 2-D racing game on Nintendo to competing in fierce ping pong matches. Dan crushes me in ping pong, it’s the first game that I have been totally obliterated in. I’m very used to winning everything but even though I lost 21 to 3 I still had a lot of fun.

Just before posting tonight we babysat for Drew and Emily. We watched their two year old son, Liam, for about 5 hours this afternoon. He’s a fun kid and we enjoyed playing parents a bit but we are very glad to give him back. Even though we may be one out of two married couples here that don’t have kids (out of at least 24 couples total) the temptation is not high at all for us to have our own bundle of joy. We quite enjoy a two person household for now.

Continue to pray for us, we need it now more than ever. School is stacking up along with work and expenses but God continues to guide us through.

Wednesday, September 3, 2008

Orientation Overdose and Syllabus Shock


Today we had our first day of actual schooling. To start, let me just say it was incredible and I enjoyed every minute. We began with Biblical Hermeneutics which is a class that Katie is attending this semester. Second was Bible Doctrine Overview, third was English Grammar and finally a convocation chapel service. I don’t feel it necessary to go into the details of any class because they were all introductory. The professors gave their background and some personal notes, then came the syllabi. The upperclassmen are well aware of the panic which is to overcome a freshman on the first day of classes. This phenomenon that I lovingly refer to as a panic is actually called “syllabus shock.” It was new to me until a few days ago, thankfully an older friend did warn me not to lose my cool over this. Syllabus shock comes as a result of your professors handing out a packet of information with class expectations and every major assignment for the semester. Many unsuspecting students see the enormous amount of work and imagine that it needs to be done very soon and begin to hyperventilate. This experience is relived in each new class of the day if the fellow doesn’t wise up and breath into a paper bag.

I must admit, looking at all the projects for the semester was overwhelming, but class was still such a relief compared our commencement procedures. I have found another burdening phenomenon which I am coining “Orientation Overdose.” For the past four days we freshman have been attending student council kickoffs, orientations, presentations and staff meet-n-greets out of the wazoo. It has kept us busy from morning until evening most days and on one occasion until 10:40 at night. I feel that the stress induced by orientation right before school starting overpowers syllabus shock.

Well at least orientation is out the way and subsequent years are said to be much less hassle. Half of my syllabi have already been obtained and sweat over. Tomorrow I take the other half of my classes and hope to transfer the energy that would be spent sweating like an unarmed hunter being chased by a bear into positive can-do motivation.

Our social life has been blessed with some great friends that share a lot in common with us. The little spare time we can scrounge up is spent talking to our new companions to grow our relationships. When we first came here we felt very alone being so far from family and not having met anyone. Now we feel surrounded by friends already. The environment on campus is such that some of our friends are starting to feel like family.

It certainly isn’t perfect down here and not without its struggles but we are happy that God has brought us here and look forward to all that is ahead. See you on Friday when we post about the second and third day of school as well as the first day of work.

P.S. You all read about our lives daily on here and while I am honored at your interest in our life we would like to hear yours too. We’ve been in contact with some friends and family but if we haven’t spoke to you for a while Katie and I would love to hear from you either by phone or e-mail.