Fall may well be the most beautiful time of year on the campus of Hyles-Anderson College.  The leaves are changing color and falling, creating a beautiful, multicolored canopy for a walk in the crisp air.  It's just cool enough to wear a light jacket or long sleeves.  I can't speak for the other students, but the changing season inspires me to study and learn.

 

I've been out at the football field about once a week to support the Raiders, and especially my favorite player, #64 Ben Huynh.  Both times that he has been able to play, the team has won! 

Classes so far have been amazing.  In several classes, I only wish that I had more time to study the book, ask the teacher more questions, and research on my own.  I'm trying to take the best notes that I can so that maybe I can study more after college. I'm fortunate enough to have a laptop on which I can take notes more quickly than I could write them by hand.

 

I have the privilege of working at the annual Judgment Nights.  Judgment Nights is a walk-through drama put on by Chapel 9, a satellite ministry of First Baptist Church.  The play depicts what life could be like after the Rapture.  I will post pictures of myself in costume and makeup soon, but I warn you, the makeup is very graphic!  (I play a wounded, dying person.)

 

 Life is busy and fast-paced, classes are challenging, (coffee is my best friend!) and Judgment Nights is hard work, but I am enjoying life in the fall at Hyles-Anderson College!

Spirit Week

I do have a valid excuse for not updating my blog recently! The college has been upgrading its internet servers, but in the process, wifi has been very hard to find.  The database that I call from at work is down as well, so we've been calling from computer printouts.  That's cool though, because when we finish our sheets, we get to leave!  I've been leaving work about an hour early every day this week.

 

This has been a very exciting week at the college.  We had Spirit Week, with the classes competing against each other in different games.  I participated in an interesting relay race called the mattress race. In the first round, teams of four guys carry each girl on a mattress across a gym.  In the second round, teams of six girls carry the guys back the other way.  Let's just say it's harder than it looks.  I also managed to lose a shoe in the middle of the gym floor during that race.

 

Next Wednesday, we will find out which team won.  I missed being in classes, especially Linear Algebra, but I did have fun cheering on the Sophomore team.  The best thing about Spirit Week was getting to wear denim all week!  Woo-hoo!  It may be hard to go back to dress clothes next week.

 

On Thursday, my friend Alicia and I went to tryouts for the college's summer tour groups.  I played for two vocalists in two different keys, and I feel confident about my audition.  It's out of my hands now.  I wanted very badly to try out last year, but I wasn't even able to make it to the first audition.  I felt like that was God saying "not yet."  So I'm confident that if He wants me to go this year, it will happen.

Chapel has been phenomenal this year.  The spirit of Hyles-Anderson College has never been something that could be described or explained; it must be experienced.  It could be said this year that the students are cautious, anticipating more adjustments as First Baptist Church moves toward calling a new pastor.  But the spirit is still here!

Back to school

I have arrived at Hyles-Anderson College for my sophomore year!  I still have to stop and think, though, when someone asks me what year I am.  I’ve settled into my dorm room with my three roommates, and I can already tell we’re going to get along.

Yes, I meant to update the blog over the summer.  The problem was that every time I would be ready to write a post about my summer plans, my plans would change!  It’s been a crazy ride, but I’m so thankful to be back here where I belong.

Today and tomorrow is orientation for all students.  This usually means that we sit in the chapel for a few hours and listen to rules and policies.  At least I get to sit with my best friends!

I’ve been reassigned to my old job in Student Recruitment, and I should start working within the week.  I really loved my job last year.  Some of the same friends from last year will be in the office as well; I think it’s going to be really fun!

Freshman Year: Things I Learned

It's really hard to believe that my freshman year of college is nearly over.  Thanks to all my readers!  My sincere apologies for not posting as often as I should have.  I've been trying to post this for three days, but the wi-fi has been weird.

I just wanted to share with you some things I was told about college and how they panned out, as well as some things I've learned in the last two semesters.

They told me that I would gain 15 pounds.  False.  I lost 15 pounds.

They told me that I would "learn the meaning of the word 'hungry'." True.  Unfortunately.  Also learned the meaning of the word "busy."  Yes, I thought I knew the meaning of both in high school.  No, I did not know the meaning of either.

They told me that I would likely have things stolen.  True.  But the worst of it was food and candy.

I wish that someone would have told me to be prepared for the numbers of friends and acquaintances that would leave school over the months.

I've learned that roommates have the potential to be a huge blessing.  Especially when they wear the same size clothing as you do.

I've learned that I can, in fact, find my way around an 8-block by 15-block grid in Chicago.

I've learned that Mrs. Francis, our Dean of Women, really cares about me and my situation.  She's not scary, y'all, and she can really help you out when no one else can!

I've learned that things I "can't do" are more often things that I "can't do yet."

I've learned that the Rice dorm steps are rather steep and that they have handrails for a reason.

I've learned how to operate a Macbook. 

Most of the things I've learned this first year of college were never mentioned in a classroom.  Not to say that I didn't learn in my classes!  But the experiences of bus ministry, tutoring, and living in a dorm and the people I have met have taught me much more.

What are some things you learned your first year of college?

Why I Love Tuesdays

Hey, everyone! I know, I know. It's been too long. I'm sorry, okay? I've been insanely busy.  Forgive me?

To cut straight to the chase, there are two main reasons why I love Tuesdays. The first is the reason I'm able to be posting right now: no 10:00 class!  The open hour has been a time to nap, a time to work on projects, a time to nap, a time to eat breakfast, a time to nap....you get the picture.

The other reason I love Tuesdays is that as soon as I get off of work at 9:00, I meet some friends in a practice room and we just stand around and sing out of the hymn-book for an hour.  We're not practicing to perform, we just sing for fun.  It gets crazy in there sometimes!  I think the general silliness comes from the fact that most of us are sleep deprived from white glove cleaning the night before.

Sometimes the security guards walking by will stop and sing a verse with us.  We've even had staff members drop in a time or two!

I think we love our Tuesday night tradition because we are having a blast while glorifying God. It's not about talent, it's about singing from the heart and having fun.  I love Hyles-Anderson College for being a place where I can meet friends like the ones I have and where things like our Tuesday night singing group can happen.

Valentine Banquet (with pictures!)

Here’s the post you’ve all been waiting for: a review of the Valentine Banquet! Actually, it’s a review of two Valentine Banquets, but don’t worry, I can explain everything!

I didn’t expect to have a serious date to the Valentine Banquet, so when my friend Josh asked me to go with him, I was happy to say yes.  Neither of us had a date, and we knew that as friends we would have a good time.  

Josh and I went to the banquet on Friday night and had a blast.  Here’s a picture of us in the dating lobby between dinner and the play. 

The students in the play did an excellent job. The music selections and performances were good, and I got to hear some of my favorite songs. The plot was interesting and centered on a former pirate (played by my bus captain, Jon Maskey) who falls in love with the daughter of the mayor of Federal City.  The “Pirates Who Don’t Do Anything” provided comic relief.

The week before the banquet, something less expected happened - I was asked to the banquet by Ben Huynh.  Ben knew that I was going with Josh on Friday night, but asked if I would like to go with him on Saturday night.  I asked Josh if that would be okay by him, and Josh was enthusiastic that I should go to both banquets. 

So I went to the banquet with Ben on Saturday night, and again had a wonderful time. I will admit that I was slightly more nervous on Saturday, but eventually that wore off.  We had an amazing evening.

The food was good both nights - salad, rolls, parmesan chicken, green beans and twice-baked potato with chocolate pies for dessert. 

I wore the same dress both nights, but wore different shoes and wore my hair differently.

Here we are with Ben’s older brother, Nathan, and his date. For those of you who are familiar with the campus, this was taken by the stairwell at the end of the post office hallway. 

So that’s how I got incredibly lucky - or rather, blessed - and got to go to the Valentine Banquet twice. I had a very good time both evenings!  Most of my friends are still a little confused about just whom I went to the banquet with, but they’ll figure it out.

Class Schedule and Chancellor's White Glove

So many people back home have been texting and asking me about these two things!

First, my class schedule.

Monday: 9:00 and 10:00 - Teaching Music in the Elementary School with Mrs. Sue Aubrecht. 11:00 - chapel. 12:15 - Algebra II with Bro. Cowling

Tuesday: 8:00 and 9:00 - The Fundamental Man with Bro. Ken Schaap. 10:00 - free. 11:00 - chapel. 12:15 - Algebra II.

Wednesday: 8:00 - Essentials Subjects with Mrs. Francis. 9:00 - New Testament Survey with Bro. Tefft. 10:00 - U.S. History II with Bro. Sparks. 11:00 - chapel. 12:15 - Algebra II.

Thursday: 8:00 - Christian Womanhood with Mrs. Cindy Schaap. 9:00 - New Testament Survey. 10:00 - U.S. History II. 11:00 - chapel. 12:15 - Advanced Teaching Methods with Mrs. Mason.

Friday: 8:00 - free. 9:00 - New Testament Survey. 10:00 - U.S. History II. 11:00 - chapel. 12:15 - Advanced Teaching Methods.

About the Chancellor's White Glove: Bro. Schaap got disgusted with the state of some of the men's dorms. He and his staff went through this morning and literally used white gloves to test the cleaning work the guys had done. Of course, most of the work was done after 10:00 last night. I got one text that said, "IT IS FINISHED!" at 6:41 this morning. I assumed that the person who sent that had been up until maybe 2 in the morning, had slept for a few hours, then gotten up at 6 to finish...but then I heard from another friend that he was in fact up all night.  It's the ladies' turn next Tuesday -- we have already been working on our room and our assignment on our floor.

An American Hero

Today, I got the opportunity to attend the funeral of Sgt. Brian Leonhardt, who was killed on Jan. 6 in Afghanistan.  I had never been to a military funeral before today, and I was very glad to get the opportunity.  It was a privilege to honor someone who had given his life to preserve our freedom.  I even had the honor of sitting with a friend of mine who was an Army sniper in Iraq.

The governor of Indiana and a general in the Army both spoke, along with Pastor Schaap.  Everything was first-class, as always at FBC Hammond.  It appeared to me that the lower floor was nearly full, so somewhere around 3,000 people were there.  Many people who did not even know Sgt. Leonhardt found themselves in tears before the service concluded with "Amazing Grace."

Perhaps the most touching of all to me were the people along the route from the church to the cemetery.  Many students from Hammond High School stood outside the school, waving flags and cheering.  I saw some familiar faces of students that I tutor on Wednesdays.  Along the route, not a few cars had parked and raised American flags.  Outside businesses, people stood in the cold holding flags.

The whole experience gave me a new appreciation for all those who serve and especially those who have given their lives.

Sermon notes

I don't usually do this, but Bro. Schaap's sermon tonight was such an amazing truth that I thought I would share it with y'all.  This is pretty much exactly what I wrote down.

Psalm 37:23-31
"What To Do Today to Find God's Will Tomorrow"

1. Have a dream of what God could miraculously do through your life.  God sees you as "highly favored." He loves you more than you can ever know, imagine, or understand and He wants to invest all of His power, love, and wisdom in you if you will allow it.
2. Have faith.  Faith is believing that God already has detailed plans for you to reach your dreams.
3. Exercise wisdom: acknowledge that you need a spiritual shepherd regardless of your age or experience.
4. Use spiritual discernment: comprehend that Satan wants to destroy your dreams.  (Humans are made in the image of God.  Satan is jealous of and irritated by humans because he wants more than anything to look and be like God.)
5. Have understanding: maturity and perception about the lies of the devil.
6. Have patience: be willing to put up with Satan's lies while you wait for God's perfect plan.
7. Have maturity: do God's will today and each day, knowing that doing so will bring you His will for the future.

So many random things to catch up on

I have finally made it to the dating lobby with  a few minutes to blog, so here goes.

Christmas break went well.  Not only did I get to see many of you, but I also got to go visit my grandparents in Alabama.  I landed back here at college on Tuesday.

I have a new roommate named Meagan.  After spending several hours talking to her last night (and thanking goodness for coffee this morning), I have come to the conclusion that she is pretty awesome.  This is going to be a great semester!

Thursday and today were our first days of classes, and after three revisions I finally got my class schedule for the semester straightened out.  I picked up my textbooks at the library today and realized that I should probably start reading my history book now.  More about my classes next time.

Chapel has been amazing so far.  Great sermons by Bro. Tefft, Bro. Bachmann, and Bro. Gray.

So that's about it for now.  I did save a few things for next time, so that y'all won't have to go crazy waiting so long.  Talk to you soon. :)