Retreat!

Just wanted to let you all know that I am safely at Cahutta Springs for the Student Ministerial Retreat.  So this should be good.  Anyway, talk to you all later!  Goodnight! :)

Picture

PS, I realized I forgot to post the picture. Here it is. :)

Thursday

Today has been quite the day.  A nice break after the last few days though...  Led song service this morning, then worked on homework that was due today.  Convocation was pretty good.  It was Asian emphasis, so a Korean doctor spoke for it.  Then I had classes.  This afternoon I played a couple games of racquet ball with Seth.  I won once then he won once.  Then I did a Bible study and dropped off a couple more studies by people.  After that, I worked on my assignment that's due in speech class tomorrow as well as practicing the paradigm I'm supposed to replicate in Hebrew class in the morning.  See the picture below. lol  Anyway, then we had our first mentor meeting at 9:00.  I'm looking forward to being a Southern Mentor next semester...  But now I'm off to bed.  Boy am I tired...  Someday I might catch up on sleep!  Hopefully...  Goodnight! :)

Wednesday

Wow, today has been busy but good.  Got up at 5:00 to finish Hebrew homework.  Then went to the SALT breakfast at 7:00.  Ryan talked about the Law of Sacrifice.  Then of course, class and homework, and more class.  Oh yeah, and we played Ultimate Frisbee for Fitness for Life!  That made me totally happy! :)  OK, so my team didn't make any points, but that was because only 2 of us had ever played before.  By the end of it, the rest of the team was starting to get the hang of it and we really held the other team off for quite awhile, but never actually got a point.  Oh well, it was still lots of fun. :)

I met with the Pastor at 2:30, then Joe and I had his last study with Louise at 4:30, then picked up Charles for supper and prayer meeting.  Then Anna and I went and did the Bible study I have after prayer meeting.  That is always interesting... lol  And now I'm back in my room.  I am totally exhausted, so will say goodnight! :)

Goodnight

Wow.  Long day, lots of homework, and the live broadcast of the documentary Monumental this evening.  That film is amazing!  More on that later...  I still have most of my Hebrew homework to do, but I'm getting up early to finish that.  Can't think right now.  So goodnight! :)

Monday

Today has been pretty good.  Classes, homework, and work.  Knocked on quite a few doors this afternoon, but folks weren't the most receptive in that neighborhood...  Oh well, I got one guy who said I could come back.  Oh yeah, and please pray for Dr. Parker!  He was crossing a cross walk this afternoon and got hit by a car!  He's in the hospital right now.  Haven't heard anything since his CAT scan...  There wasn't any blood or torn clothes or anything, just a lot of back pain.  So yeah, definitely will keep him in bed for awhile I will assume...  Anyway, this evening we had SonRise rehearsal again, then I was working some on homework, but Seth's already in bed because he has to go to work at midnight so that's making me really sleepy.  I think I'll go to sleep now and get up early in the morning. :)  And the video of Joe's going away party is below.  Enjoy! :)


A few clips from Joe's going away party we had this evening.

Sunday

Well, today has been pretty good and productive.  Unfortunately I didn't get any work in, but I got quite a bit of schoolwork in. :)  Being up until midnight last night with Asian night, it was nice to be able to sleep in until about 8:30 or 9:00 this morning.  When I got up, I got a few things done, posted pictures from Friday night and stuff, then read the few chapters of a book by Russell Burrill that I need to write a report on by Tuesday.  Wow.  It was incredible!  Talking about God's design for pastors.  How we aren't supposed to be hovering over churches, but our main focus is evangelism.  And how the early church and the early Adventist church had more of a small group mentality and the pastor just sort of oversaw the small groups and spent his time establishing new ones and training the leaders.  So anyway, very thought provoking!

That took a lot of the day, reading that.  I also got speech homework done...  And then we had the going away party for Joe.  That was really sad!  He leaves in just about a week for Detroit.  He will certainly be missed in this part of the world... :(  I got some video and put it together, but it's busy uploading right now.  I'll post it in the morning for you all.  Anyway, after that I came back to the room and learned the vocabulary words for Hebrew in the morning.  And edited that video.  And now I'm off to bed.  Goodnight! :)

Sabbath

Wow!  Just got back from Asian Night.  All I can say is "Wow!"  But that's getting ahead of myself.  This morning we went to Chatt. First Church.  The pastor talked about fools...  Anyway, after eating at the cafeteria for lunch, some of us went to the nursing home and sang for awhile.  Then we went for a walk on the Greenway and played 500 with a football for awhile.  That was a lot of fun.  Then we went over to Heldzinger's place and watched The Pirate's Who Don't Do Anything.  That was pretty funny.  Anyway, after that, there was Asian Night!  They had seven different countries represented with a booth for each one with different food.  Then there was a program with dances from each country and videos between each one with different stories of people who were now "engaged".  Oh my goodness, they were so funny!!!  So yeah, it was an amazing evening!  But it's nearly midnight, so I'm off to bed.  Goodnight! :)

Friday

Today has been pretty epic!  Started with Hebrew class, then worked on Sabbath School for tomorrow.  Still haven't finished that, but I'll get up early and finish that up.  After speech class, Seth, Eric, Katie, and I went and saw October Baby.  It came out today and it was really good!!!  Definitely a lot better than we were even expecting!  Highly recommend it.  Anyway, then I took a shower, got changed, and we went to Tim Taylor's birthday party.  It is his 24th birthday, but we were pretending it was his 4th.  So we gave him all kinds of little toys for presents and things.  Pretty epic.  After that it was time for vespers, which was really good!  It's Asian Heritage Weekend, so a lot of that mixed in.  But I am off to bed now!  So goodnight! :)

Thursday

Somewhat busy day today.  Led song service, then homework, convocation, choir, and two more classes. After that, I played 2 quick games of racquet ball with Seth.  I won him the first time and he won me the second time.  Oh well.  Those certainly wore me out!  Then I've just been working on homework pretty much ever since.  Besides eating lunch/supper when they served it at 5:00...  But now I am off to bed.  Goodnight! :)

Wednesday night

So today has been pretty good.  Didn't get any homework done, but that's part of what made it so nice. :) lol  I got up at 6:15, took a shower, then gave the worship thought at the SALT breakfast at 7:00.  Then Hebrew was at 8:00.  After that, I spent two hours and cleaned my side of the room!  Finally, everything is organized again!  Ugh, that seems to be a job that needs done way too often...  Anyway, then it was time for Fitness for Life Class.  And Speech class after that.  Today was impromptu speeches, which were hilarious!  Then Seth and I went out to eat at PF Chang's for lunch.  An older gentleman who sat behind us at the Gaither concert took us there.  He is a sales rep for a company, so he gets in this area once in awhile.  He and the church group they had come with all got a huge kick out of Seth and I at the concert because we were like the only young people there. =P  So they've been talking about us ever since. lol  Anyway, so we went out to eat today.  That was nice. :)  Oh, and I found out that I got the Student Mentor job next semester!  And I'll be working with the Southern Connections class that Michelle will be teaching for the SALT students!!!  So that made me SO happy!!! :)  Anyway, then I met Joe and we did a Bible study before prayer meeting.  Then Katie and I did another Bible study after that.  And I just got back to my room, so goodnight! :)

March 20

Wow, what a day!  At least I'm feeling much better than I did last night! :)  The vaccine effects were short lived.  Anyway, today consisted of lots of homework and classes.  And rehearsal for SonRise.  And a Bible study with Joe after that.  And then a test and more homework after that!  And a really good conversation with Heather thrown in somewhere during that time...  But now it's nearly midnight and I am off to bed.  Finally got everything done.  I still am not totally clear on what I'm going to say in the SALT breakfast I'm leading out in at 7:00 in the morning, but I'll probably just get up a little earlier tomorrow and solidify my thoughts then.  So here's to six hours of sleep tonight!  Goodnight! :)

Monday

So today has been pretty good.  Hebrew class this morning, other classes during the day, homework in between.  And I picked up my new camera!!!  I am so happy!!!  I'll post a picture on here. :)  But then I met with the pastor, did some outreach, then had the first rehearsals for SonRise.  Anyway, I think the mixture of heat and the vaccine yesterday is killing me.  I have a fever and am all shaky and have the chills and stuff, so I'm heading to bed right now...  Goodnight! :)

Sunday

Wow, today has been very busy.  I attempted to get up at 6:30 this morning, but that didn't work.  For some reason, going to bed at 1:00 doesn't make it very easy when 6:30 comes around to get up.  Oh well. I got out of bed at 7:30.  We had the final part of the bootcamp from 8:00 to just after 2:00.  It was really good.  Except for the ending.  All of us going to Sierra Leone had to get the Yellow Fever Vaccination.  It wasn't too bad though. :)  Then we had Stefan's birthday party.  Finally left at 5:30 and did homework.  Then went to the Orchestra concert at 7:30 and finished my Hebrew homework there.  So glad to get that done!  And got double convo credit too. :)  And heard a wonderful concert. :)  But anyway, that's over and I am exhausted!  Just took a speech quiz online and uploaded my speech outline from Friday.  And I'm off to bed now!  Goodnight! :)

Saturday night

Wow!  Today has been quite wonderful!  Spent all day in Evangelism Boot camp, which has been great!  Dr. Parker and Dr. Martin were our main speakers.  And then we had practice preaching time, which was a lot of fun.  After that got out at like 10 til 6:00, we went for a walk on the Greenway.  That's always a blast when you do it with friends. :)  Then I had time to change into my 3-piece suit to go to the banquet/talent show.  That was certainly  highlight!  The winner walked off the stage with $1,000, and the group I thought should win, won.  So that was really neat!  Anyway, everyone was dressed up and they had refreshments and everything.  Tons of fun.  But I just got back to my room and it is after midnight, so I am off to bed.  Goodnight! :)

Friday night

So today was pretty good.  It was the end of the week!!!  Started with a Hebrew test.  Not sure how well I did, but I think I did decent.  Then I kept working on my speech all the way up until 12:00 when I had to give it.  But that went alright as well.  A little bit long, but oh well.  Anyway, I was totally brain dead after that, so I didn't do a whole lot.  Played tennis with Seth and Eric for awhile, then talked with DeWayne and Eric for a little bit.  Then Seth, Eric, and I decided to go see Warhorse.  It was finally in the discount theater here!!!  We were so excited, and this was about the only afternoon I actually was free to go see it.  That was one incredible film...  One of my new favorites.  Ugh, like the latest one usually is. =P  Anyway, we made it back just in time to get to the vespers we had tonight at the start of the Evangelism Bootcamp.  Dr. King gave a devotional thought, which was really good.  And it was neat meeting the other people going to Sierra Leone.  Then we had nachos in the dorm afterwards and I was getting ready for bed, until we ran into Eric and Stefan.  Yeah, they just left our room, so now I'm off to bed.  Goodnight! :)

Thursday night

Well, today has been good.  Somewhat frustrating at times, but overall pretty good.  This morning I had to write the report for Intro to Ministry class on the 3 interviews I did.  Then I took Seth to the mall, then came back to campus.  We ended up missing most of convo, so we just ate lunch instead.  But that way I got lunch today. :)  This afternoon I've been just working on my speech and studying for the Hebrew test I have in the morning.  So yeah, pretty epic.  Oh yeah, I played racquet ball with DeWayne for 45 minutes or so this afternoon.  We both were totally worn out afterwards.  I was sweating so bad!  He won me both times, but the second game it was a stupid mistake on my part that made him win, so he re-served and then I won. =P  But that was a lot of fun.  I feel like I should be stressed out about my test tomorrow, but it's near the end of the week and I am so tired I don't really care anymore...  So I'm going to get to bed at a decent time, so goodnight! :)

Wednesday

Today has been very frustrating, hectic, stressful, and wonderful all at the same time!  It started with the SALT breakfast at 7:00.  Sarah Chang talked about the Law of Influence. (We're going through the laws of leadership...)  Anyway, that was really good.  Hebrew class was at 8:00, and that was a lot of fun.  We talked about Genesis and then did some translation.  After that, I worked on my speech for awhile before going to Fitness for Life Class.  We only walked a mile and timed ourselves while wearing the heart rate monitor to see how fit we were.  So that wasn't too bad.  Then we had speech class, which was a lot of fun.  Today was the first day of speeches.  The whole class is divided into 4 groups in the 4 corners of the room so there are 4 speakers talking at the same time.  Interesting, but fun.  After lunch I worked more on research for my speech.  That's what I did the whole afternoon until I left for prayer meeting.  On the way there, Katie reminded me about the report that is due tomorrow in Intro to Ministry class on 3 interviews we've done with pastors.  OK, so I hadn't even gotten around to doing any interviews yet!  So that stressed me out.  But thankfully Katie and I interviewed Pastor Dale while we were eating supper before prayer meeting, then I called Elder Gibbs and interviewed him briefly after playing for song service for prayer meeting.  After prayer meeting, I had a Bible study with an older man.  That was a lot of fun.  Then I got back here to the dorm and called Pastor Thompson and interviewed him.  I just finished that, so now I'm off to bed.  I'll write the reports in the morning...  But anyway, I feel really good after talking with three different pastors about God's calling and their different experiences as pastors.  So yeah, I'm going to bed happy, although I seriously should be stressing out right now.  Oh well, I'll wait until tomorrow to get stressed again. :)  Goodnight! :)

Tuesday night

Or rather, that should be Wednesday morning.  Because it just passed midnight as I sat here.  Oh well, today has been crazy.  But I got everything done!  I'm jumping ahead of myself though.  This morning was spent working on homework.  Yeah, that seems to be all I do anymore.  I had to get the homework done for Presentation Technology and finish up the book report.  After I had eaten breakfast and led song service.  Oh yeah, and I stopped by Dr. Klingbeil's office because his grader had marked me off by two points on my grammar quiz because I had mixed two of the verb forms up.  Or rather, they had.  I did it in the order the book had them in and didn't pay attention to the order they had it on the paper.  So I asked Dr. Klingbeil about it and he was very merciful and gave me the 100% score.  So I don't have to retake it!!!  That made my day. :)  Anyway, then I had class until 3:00 (Dr. Samaan let us out 15 minutes early because he wasn't feeling well) and then I played racquet ball with Eric for a half hour.  It's probably a good thing that I'm taking Fitness for Life and have to exercise every day, otherwise I probably would not do it. =P  Anyway, after that, Seth, Eric, and I did our computer concepts test and I finally got the homework done for that class as well.  Then I rushed out the door to follow up a couple of contacts and give a Bible study (which went well) before coming back and tackling Web Development homework.  We're trying to learn CSS and it's kind of confusing, but finally after an hour and a half I got that done.  Just in time to go to the 10:00 worship where a guy from Little Light Studios was here talking about the dangers of super heroes and other Hollywood things.  I always enjoy hearing them talk.  But that went for over an hour, so we were late for night check, but thankfully they worked all that out and it didn't effect any of us. =P  So all I had left to do was to do the quiz online for Web Development before 11:55, which I accomplished, and then I helped Seth do his homework so he could get it done in time.  So yeah, now I'm dropping into bed exhausted, ready to be back at it again at 6:30 because I have a SALT worship/breakfast thing at 7:00.  And Hebrew at 8:00.  And a speech that I need to do research for and get written for Friday.  And the list just continues to go on and on...  So yeah, goodnight!!! :)

Monday

So today has been very busy!  Preparing for a vocab quiz this morning before class and then starting to read a book that I had to write a book report on before tomorrow kept me busy before breakfast this morning.  And that book report has kept me busy all day.  But I'm basically done with it now.  Just 50 more words or so to write tomorrow.  Then I've had classes and homework the rest of the day.  And a Bible study with Joe this afternoon.  Anyway, I'm exhausted, so I will say goodnight. :)

Sunday night

So today I didn't feel all that accomplished...  But I still got a lot done.  Went to breakfast at 9:00 with friends at the City Cafe.  That was good.  And time change was today, so yeah...  Then I worked on some stuff before heading over to Heldzinger's house and helping Josh shoot part of a movie he's working on.  Didn't get back from that until nearly 7:00.  Then I learned Hebrew Vocab with Kayla and stuff and now I'm off to bed.  Good grief I have so much due in the next couple of days!  If I survive, it will be a wonder!  But I have said that before, so I'll just quit. =P  Goodnight! :)

March 10

All I can say is "Wow!" Whatever has happened in the last I don't know how long was forever eclipsed after tonight. I was at the Gaither Homecoming 2012 Concert here in Chattanooga!!!!!!!!!!! I still can't believe it! Definitely one of the best nights of my life! Especially that "He's Alive" performance... David Phelps sang it of course with the vocal band and the rest of the homecoming people sang back up. It was incredible! And then there was "Please Forgive Me" and "Let Freedom Ring". And so many others! It was a four hour concert, so there was plenty of music! :) And I got some pictures with people! Wes Hampton and Michael English were the only two from the Vocal Band I got close enough to to take a picture with. But I also got a picture with Ben Speer. He's 81 years old now! So that was neat. :)

Anyway, as far as the rest of the day goes, there was potluck at Chatt. First which was really nice. And a bunch of us walked on the Greenway. So yeah. Anyway, here are some pictures. Enjoy and goodnight! :)

Friday night

Well, today has been different.  Got quite a bit accomplished I guess.  Finished the Hebrew homework this morning, then took the next quiz online for speech class.  After that, Seth and I went to Cici's Pizza and ate breakfast/lunch.  We're a little low on our school food amount, so we figured it would be cheaper in the long run to eat there while we had the time.  Anyway, this afternoon I worked on more homework and edited quite a bit on the play video.  So I feel somewhat accomplished. :)  But anyway, I'm off to bed at a descent time actually tonight, so goodnight! :)

Thursday

Today I feel like I've just driven most of the time.  It started with taking one of our contacts to the food bank to get some groceries.  Joe is out of town, of course, so that was left to me.  So that took a couple of hours.  I ate lunch after that (OK, it doubled as breakfast...) with Eric, Kayla, and Brent.  Then I worked some on homework before I took Kayla and Dara to Walmart and then over to Smith's house to ride horses. (and yes, Mom, they gave me gas money. =P)  While they were doing that, I got the powerpoint nearly done for Sabbath School and prepared for the Bible study I had tonight.  I picked up LisaMarie this evening and we went to Ary's house and gave her a Bible study.  I hadn't given her one since September, so it was really nice to finally start those up again.  After getting back to the dorm, DeWayne and Eric came over and we watched "National Treasure 2".  That was quite the movie!  Reminded me a lot of a Jonathan Park episode...  Anyway, then I called Heather and talked for awhile before watching all of Ironic Iconic America again with Seth and Eric.  And now I am off to bed!  So goodnight! :)

March 7

Another day of spring break!  Although I'm not just lazing around. =P  I worked on taxes for most of the day and got those nearly filed.  Just need a little more information, but will finish that tomorrow.  Then I worked on Hebrew homework.  Dara was bored again and hadn't been out of her room, so I texted her and got her out. =P  We spent most of the afternoon outside while I worked on taxes and Hebrew.  Then Seth, her, and I ran into town to grab some DVD cases we needed.  After that, I worked more on Hebrew before leaving for supper and prayer meeting at the church.  The Pastor and Joe are both gone so I was left with doing that.  When I got back, Seth was on the phone with Mom, so I visited for awhile, then Seth and I watched the 5 episodes of Ironic Iconic America on Vimeo.  That is such a hilarious series about America.  Anyway, and now I'm off to bed.  So goodnight! :)

Spring Break!

So it is spring break!!!  No alarms in the morning! :)  Anyway, so yes, we went on our backpacking trip into the Smoky Mountains.  Thankfully we left the tornados behind.  Here at the school, they were hit with several tornados Friday night.  Thankfully nothing on the school was damaged, but there's quite a bit of damage around.  Anyway, we had a lot of fun on our trip.  We camped in the smokies, walked the streets of Gatlinburg, and spent some time in downtown Chattanooga.  Now we're back here on campus and back to work at least.  Thankfully school doesn't start until Monday, but I still have homework that needs done in Hebrew before then as well as a book to read for a book report that's due on Tuesday.  And a speech I need to research for and write for next Friday...  And I have to do prayer meeting tomorrow night as well as a Bible study before that.  Yeah, I definitely keep busy, even on break. =P  So I think I should start by going to sleep...  Goodnight! :)

March!

So welcome to March!  Spring break started tonight, so I am SO happy and excited!!!  But I'm getting ahead of myself.  I had a book report that I had to write this morning, after I did song service.  Anna Fink helped me again.  I texted her at the last minute last night because DeWayne lost his voice.  So anyway, that was fun.

The rest of the day was spent with convo (which was College Bowl and was quite incredible!), and a couple of classes.  And Dr. Samaan took the Christian Spirituality class outside, so I sprawled out on the grass and listened.  It was 75 degrees and felt AMAZING!!!!! :)

This afternoon I worked on homework, then Eric and I went and bought some more stuff that we need for backpacking.  We leave tomorrow!  I'm so excited. :)  Anyway, I'm exhausted and it is late, so goodnight! :)