Back at the college and almost back into the routine of things here.  Class, class, class, chapel, class, lunch, work, sleep.  Friends, study, assignments.

The funeral for my grandaddy went well.  It was exactly what he would have wanted -- the family together, singing and listening to the songs he loved. Pastors from different faiths spoke kindly of each other and worked together -- he never cared about what religious terms a person used; he wanted to know if they loved God. We cried a lot, but we laughed more than we cried. It was a perfect celebration of his life.

I wrote a paragraph on my philosophy of friendship for English 201. I know of someone who might like the first sentence.

Bro. Jack Hyles said, "Friendship is the glue that holds all other relationships together."  If all relationships begin with and are built on friendship, then it is very important that we decide on principles that will govern our friendships.  A friendship should never be lived out lazily or haphazardly, but by principles.  At some point in a friendship, built to last, each friend must make a conscious decision to love. We must commit to love our friends as God loves us, selflessly and without expectation of returned love or favors.  This requires that each of us be a friend to our friends even when they do not behave as a friend to us.  A true friend listens more than he talks, helps more than he is helped, gives more than he receives, and holds an attitude of humility and service towards his friend.  If two people builds a friendship each with the intention of serving the other, petty annoyances will be overlooked and the differences that the two people have will be dealt with kindly, leaving the friendship intact.  In our friendships, our minds should be as much like the mind of Christ as possible, with His love, forgiveness, humility, and servant's heart displayed in every word and action.

Requesting prayer for my family

Please pray for my family today and this week.  My maternal grandfather, Ed Morgan, passed away early this morning.  The funeral will be held in Montgomery, Alabama, but I am not yet sure of the date.

I'll always remember Grandaddy as a funny man.  He loved to joke, and his wit was sharp.  He also loved to cheer for Bama football (ROLL TIDE!) and to play piano.  He was a good man, but more importantly, Jesus was his Saviour.

The Bible tells Christians "...sorrow not, even as others which have no hope." (I Thessalonians 4:13) We'll miss him and mourn our loss here on earth, but how could we want him to be here rather than in Heaven? I believe that he is at this moment enjoying fellowship with God and with his loved ones, all of them perfectly whole in body and in spirit.  I believe that I will see him again one day.

Sorry that I haven't posted in so long!  I'll try to catch you up on the last week.

Last week was exciting and very busy.  I've finally been to each of my classes at least once, and I have all of my long-term assignments and their due dates.  I'll be reading the Old Testament through, reading the Gospels and writing a summary on each chapter, and writing at least two term papers.

Last week, I got to play piano for two of my new friends as they sang in chapel.  We did the song "My Life, Lord, is Yours to Control." That went well, and I'm now practicing a song with a trio.

The food has been pretty good.  Today for lunch we had beef, mashed potatoes, and carrots.  Overall, the food has been much better than I expected.  The challenge is in getting to the dining hall!  It's been especially hard in the mornings, because Jericho students are required to have their devotions from 6:30 am to 7:00 am, and breakfast ends at 7:10.  So to go to breakfast, you have to be ready to walk out the door before devotion time at 6:30.

I miss all of you that are back home, but I love being here.  It's a bit hectic at times, for sure, but I'm so happy to be where I am.  I can't believe that it's been two whole weeks!

Be sure to become a "follower" of the blog --- the more I have, the more responsible I feel to post often!

First weekend on the bus route

On Saturday and Sunday, I visited Division 7, Route 45-9.  We were on L street near Commercial and Ewing (sp?) on the extreme southeast side of Chicago.  Division 7 was reformatted over the summer, so that specific area did not have a bus route before now.

On Saturday morning, everyone first went to the bus meeting.  After that, there was a division meeting, then a  route meeting.  Finally, I got on the bus that was taking all of the ladies to our checkpoint, a McDonalds on Commercial. We visited on the bus route until about 3:30, but it started to rain and hail, so we headed back to the checkpoint.

On Sunday, we left the college at 7:00.  We picked up the people, dropped the teens and some workers off at the teen center,  and went to City Baptist School, which is run by First Baptist Church.  We signed kids in as their buses arrived.  After Sunday School and church, we took a bus to the church, met our teens and other workers, and headed back to the route.  When they were dropped off, we went back to the church, where I fell asleep until church time.  After church, the girls got the rare privilege of riding the night bus, which takes the teenagers who stayed at the church for the sunday night service back home.

Today, classes, chapel, and work was canceled, which is why I had time to write such a long post.  I've had a great day doing nothing much at all. There's a volleyball tournament in a while and a cookout by the lake at 4:30.

I finally got my computer today!  I had to get a lease form, sign it, have it stamped at the business office, have Bro. Ken Schaap or Bro. Fruit sign it, then turn it in at the security office to get my brand-new MacBook.  Of course, all of these offices are spread around the building, one on each floor, and are open at different times, mostly while I'm working.

Speaking of work, I work in the Student Recruitment office.  The last couple of days I've been calling juniors and seniors in high school that might be interested in coming to Hyles-Anderson College and asking them to let me fill out an application for them over the phone.  It's a good job, and I'm glad I got it.

The food has been pretty good so far.  My main problem is getting to the dining hall on time. My room (on Rice 3) is very close and convenient to the chapel, but not close to the dining hall.  Friday is the day we have cinnamon rolls for breakfast, and they were delicious.

Tomorrow, I'll be on a bus route with my friend Beka.  I'll keep you posted. Right now, I'm going to SLEEP!  Good night everybody.