How my schedule has flip flopped! From not being able to sleep pass 7 all summer on account I was trained to wake up at 5 and now that school has started, well, I've taken a few more liberties by way of hours allotted for sleep.
Yes, classes have started again and the anticipation of my december graduation makes the dread of class work a little more bearable. I've found that I've quite gotten better at the whole psychology thing, to some extent at any rate and have found that the information on how people work has aided in my quest to know others more personally.
Today is my last day of the school week and I'm quite thankful for that for several reasons. The first being that I don't have a working vehicle this week and it has been less than wonderful being that I have been confined to my house on the days I'm not headed to campus with my roommates. With the heat and the distance, it wasn't worth trekking to campus simply for extroverted interactions.
The second reason I am thankful is because the rumors of a gathering of kohl siblings have been flying the last week and tomorrow I shall make the delightful trip back to storm lake with Pearl and we shall, stop off in Ames to collect a brother or two. And then we shall be home!! Sleeping in what ever bed or floor is available (ill probably be put up with Eva and rose as that's usually what happens) . More than likely I will wake up Saturday morning to find that the little ones have cooked us all breakfast and then I shall start a large vat of coffee on the stove. The siblings will sit on chairs in the kitchen not necessarily around the table and wait on the coffee, which we shall serve to each other as the ones we prepare for ourselves get spoken for before we have a chance to bring it to our mouths.
Mom will want to show us her new projects at home and my dad will drag me outside to show me the
new car I will have and catch me up on all the new car quirks
I will take on this semester.
We will take our coffees to the living room and pile all over one another as we interview Ken on his freshman college experience thus far and listen to him and kit tell stories of shenanigans. Kyle will keep popping in to ask someone to verse him in air hockey or fooseball and Pearl will be kind enough to accept. Grace will ask her where she is going and Pearl will respond, "I told Kyle I'd play a game with him" and kolby will follow both of them to the porch. Eva will invite me to paint with her and Rose will be plotting some baking project.
Mom will pop in right in the middle of a story and insist the story be starts over so she can know what's so funny. Then dad will come back and take all the boys with muscles to go chop wood and he'll want all of us girls to pick tomatoes and such business as that. We'll probably all insists that it's too hot to go chop wood and pick tomatoes out of the greenhouse at this time of day, plus it'd be too much effort to untangle ourselves from our pile of cuddling at that moment anyways. He'll accept our agreement to do it a little later and then will sit down at the computer
and start a game of Age of Empires or that card game that's on there. Mom won't notice at first but then she'll say for him to get off.
And that's basically how it will go. Coffee, cuddling, and story telling. When it gets to be dark outside, Grace will suggest a movie or a game of Dominion. If the boys aren't engrossed in a 4-way Age of Empires game with themselves and Dad, they will accept and we all will join in. Pearl will sit at the table with her book and Grace will beg her to play with us and if she accepts, she will cheat and chuckle to herself. If she doesn't play, she'll sit with her book and occasionally comment on things. Kyle will see that she's the only one not preoccupied with the game and will ask for another game of air hockey. She'll hesitate some but she'll agree eventually.
Mom will come in around 9 and inform us all that there is church in the morning and that the little kids need to go to bed. We'll all respond that we know about
church and that if she lets us keep the kids up a little longer
we'll be in charge of putting them to bed. She'll agree and some time after 10 we'll send them upstairs and hope they can put themselves to bed. Eva, as a 13 year old, has joined the ranks well enough to stay up with us as late as she wants, as long as she agrees not to be grouchy in the morning.
And that is how it will go. It will be wonderful :) until then, my book bag us packed and I'm ready to spend my whole day on campus and then worship at salt company tonight! It shall be great!!
Thursday, August 29, 2013
Sunday, August 25, 2013
University of Iowa: #number1 #partyschool
"Boo! You guys aren't welcome here." I can remember it like it was yesterday. The words stung as our service project of taking out trash for students in the dorms had found us at the room of students belonging to a different ministry. A new ministry had just planted in Iowa City at the University of Iowa and the tension ran high.
There was tension long before it, the new ministry, got here. I remember freshman year being pulled this way and that as I was told, "I tried out that other ministry, but this one is the better one, trust me." or "That ministry over there isn't as great as this one here because blah bah blah..." It didn't matter who belonging to what I was talking to, no matter what, it was basically the same story all the time, "Love mine and hate the other."
There are lots of campus ministries here, but there were only a small handful of large, well-known movements and those were the ones known for competing the most. Numbers. I hate numbers.
When I came to school here, I never worried about making friends in my classes or fitting in with other students in my field. My biggest concern was for my community of believers and if I've got at least that, I'm set to go any where or do anything.
Half-way through my first semeseter here and already being fully committed and involved in one of the ministries, I found myself like a fish out of water, suffocating in too shallow of water. There was a lot of feel good messages and super simple explainations of "Church words" like, "righteousness" and "sin."
If the target audience was people who had never in their life before, heard the gospel, they were perfect. But I often found myself craving much more. It was around October of my freshman year that I began deeply considering transferring to ISU for the ministry they had there that my older siblings had attended.
Of couse I had the battle of, "But if I leave, who will be the example of following Jesus to those that don't know?" But then, I would look at my life and how bitter I had become towards the ministry I had joined on account I'd trusted them with my heart, to grow it and love it and cause me to love Jesus more deeply and all I had was brokenness. It was my own fault, of course, for putting the responsibility of growing my heart on a church or a ministry, but I had not fully learned that yet as I had grown up in a church my whole life.
As I battled within myself on stay or go or what I should do, I was elated around Thanksgiving when my brother attending ISU informed me that the ministry he attended would actually be coming to Iowa the following year. YAY!!!!
I began emailing with one of the pastors and then the women's director and my excitment grew steadily. Tension about the intrusion of an other ministry coming grew steadily as well.
"Who do they think they are? We've got this campus covered." "We don't need them here"
"They're on our turf." And other such things as that.
There were a small handful, though, that wanted to be excited and would say things like, "We need all the help we can get."
The University of Iowa recently was proudly named the number one party school in the US. Iowa City, known as the Sin City of the Midwest had been named 3rd gayest city in the nation. To say that this city, this campus, is a dark place would be an understatement. Sometimes the heaviness is so thick it's hard not to feel a little depressed.
I've heard Christian parents respond with mixed reactions to the fact that Iowa is now number one party school. Some are worried and feel a little bit of guilt sending their God-fearing child to such a dispicable place. Some are indifferent. Some see it as a missions opportunity.
I have the coolest mom. She was one that was responding with excitment as she encouraged those of us who live here to take up the cross and "get to work" here. "You have work to do" I believe is what she said. What a response.
"Not that I have already obtained all of this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ took hold of me. Brothers and sisters I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead. I press toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus."
Phil 3: 12-14
Press on toward the goal. What is our goal?
As believers on campus, what is it that we have been called to? Is it to run about trying to collect people to join our student organizations and get them to say "I am a member of this one" or "I attend the best one on campus" ? Is our job to be the biggest and the best and be the most well known?
Is our goal to make everyone to stop drinking and filling their empty lives with drinking and drugs and promisquity?
No. We are not called to make people to stop drinking. We are not called to stop the partying and the drug use or the homosexuality.
The Lord never said, "Go ye therefore and stop the partying on all campuses, condemning non-believers in the name of the Father, Son, and holy Spirit. Teaching them that you are the best ministry and they must only attend yours. And Lo, I am with you always, but only when you have the most numbers of people in your church"
No. We don't want numbers. We want deciples. Believers. People who truly love Jesus.
Ministry is a bit like a relationship. Go at it slowly, build it strong, be careful to get to know others well and let love abound. Don't get caught up in the physical stuff. The activites and the games. The important stuff is the heart stuff.
"Now as to love the bretheren, you have no need for anyone to write to you, for you yourselves were taught by God to love one another; for indeed you practices it for all brethren who are in macidonia. But we urge you, bretheren, exel still more, and to make it your ambition to lead a quiet life. To keep to your own business and and work with your hands, just as we have commanded you, so that you will behave properly toward outsiders and not be in need." 1 Thess. 4:9-12
Love one another. Behave properly toward outsiders. Excel still more.
The first weeks of school are huge for campus ministries. With the freshman unaware of where to plug in, there is a major push to get campus names out there so that they know what their options are.
Friday night there were rumors that freshman would be coming out of Kinnick stadium by the packs and gaggles and bunches at 8pm. I showed up in my shirt with flyers and invites in hand and noticed lots of other people milling about waiting for the victims, er, freshman. Their flyers were a different color and I very quickly realized that I was standing right in the middle of 20 other people belonging to another ministry.
I felt a little like I was intruding. They had been there first, afterall. I wasn't trying to get my name out over theirs. If there had been a different corner to pass out flyers on, I would have moved. But as it was, I actually had friends in that ministry and there was no tension as I stood among them waiting.
What a moment. The moment when I stood next to someone in another ministry and we alternated passing out invites whilst encouraging each other.
When the freshman were gone there was a lot of meeting and introducing ourselves to the other students. It was all friendly and loving and gentleness and kindness. Words of encouragement rather than words of animosity.
Joy.
I've been here for 4 years now. In that time the University of Iowa went from being in the top 10 party schools, to number 2, and now THEE number one. To anyone on the outside, they could say that it has gotten worse. That the darkness has only gotten thicker and that the campus is more lost than before.
I will gladly be the one to tell you that the Lord is moving on this campus. There are seeds being planted and nurtured and the fruits of the Spirit are growing and there is fruit.
The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. There is much to celebrate here.
We are gaining. We're gaining ground. We're in a battle. There is a war going on and we are winning. Yes, we are winning.
University of Iowa: Number one party school in the US. Number one place to come if you want see the Lord work. Number one place to come if you want to feel needed as a believer. Number one place to actively live out the challenge of loving Jesus in the world. Number one place to practice being in the world but not of it.
"Go therefore, to the ends of the earth."
If there was ever a place that is the farthest end of the earth from where believers were sent out from Judea, it's probably Iowa City, Iowa.
If there ever was a place to live out the great comission, the University of Iowa is as good as any.
Is it hard to be a beliver here? No.
I think it would be hard for me to be a believer any where else. I need it. If it were anything less it'd be easy to become passive and apathetic. It'd be too easy for me to cease clinging and stop growing. It'd be too easy for me to become stagnant in my walk.
Press on.
"We are hard pressed on everyside, but not crushed"
See You At the Pole is coming up again, soon. I don't care how many people show up. But I shall love to pray with all the believers who choose to come.
We have work to do here. All of us. And we shall have joy in working in unity.
There was tension long before it, the new ministry, got here. I remember freshman year being pulled this way and that as I was told, "I tried out that other ministry, but this one is the better one, trust me." or "That ministry over there isn't as great as this one here because blah bah blah..." It didn't matter who belonging to what I was talking to, no matter what, it was basically the same story all the time, "Love mine and hate the other."
There are lots of campus ministries here, but there were only a small handful of large, well-known movements and those were the ones known for competing the most. Numbers. I hate numbers.
When I came to school here, I never worried about making friends in my classes or fitting in with other students in my field. My biggest concern was for my community of believers and if I've got at least that, I'm set to go any where or do anything.
Half-way through my first semeseter here and already being fully committed and involved in one of the ministries, I found myself like a fish out of water, suffocating in too shallow of water. There was a lot of feel good messages and super simple explainations of "Church words" like, "righteousness" and "sin."
If the target audience was people who had never in their life before, heard the gospel, they were perfect. But I often found myself craving much more. It was around October of my freshman year that I began deeply considering transferring to ISU for the ministry they had there that my older siblings had attended.
Of couse I had the battle of, "But if I leave, who will be the example of following Jesus to those that don't know?" But then, I would look at my life and how bitter I had become towards the ministry I had joined on account I'd trusted them with my heart, to grow it and love it and cause me to love Jesus more deeply and all I had was brokenness. It was my own fault, of course, for putting the responsibility of growing my heart on a church or a ministry, but I had not fully learned that yet as I had grown up in a church my whole life.
As I battled within myself on stay or go or what I should do, I was elated around Thanksgiving when my brother attending ISU informed me that the ministry he attended would actually be coming to Iowa the following year. YAY!!!!
I began emailing with one of the pastors and then the women's director and my excitment grew steadily. Tension about the intrusion of an other ministry coming grew steadily as well.
"Who do they think they are? We've got this campus covered." "We don't need them here"
"They're on our turf." And other such things as that.
There were a small handful, though, that wanted to be excited and would say things like, "We need all the help we can get."
The University of Iowa recently was proudly named the number one party school in the US. Iowa City, known as the Sin City of the Midwest had been named 3rd gayest city in the nation. To say that this city, this campus, is a dark place would be an understatement. Sometimes the heaviness is so thick it's hard not to feel a little depressed.
I've heard Christian parents respond with mixed reactions to the fact that Iowa is now number one party school. Some are worried and feel a little bit of guilt sending their God-fearing child to such a dispicable place. Some are indifferent. Some see it as a missions opportunity.
I have the coolest mom. She was one that was responding with excitment as she encouraged those of us who live here to take up the cross and "get to work" here. "You have work to do" I believe is what she said. What a response.
"Not that I have already obtained all of this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ took hold of me. Brothers and sisters I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead. I press toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus."
Phil 3: 12-14
Press on toward the goal. What is our goal?
As believers on campus, what is it that we have been called to? Is it to run about trying to collect people to join our student organizations and get them to say "I am a member of this one" or "I attend the best one on campus" ? Is our job to be the biggest and the best and be the most well known?
Is our goal to make everyone to stop drinking and filling their empty lives with drinking and drugs and promisquity?
No. We are not called to make people to stop drinking. We are not called to stop the partying and the drug use or the homosexuality.
The Lord never said, "Go ye therefore and stop the partying on all campuses, condemning non-believers in the name of the Father, Son, and holy Spirit. Teaching them that you are the best ministry and they must only attend yours. And Lo, I am with you always, but only when you have the most numbers of people in your church"
No. We don't want numbers. We want deciples. Believers. People who truly love Jesus.
Ministry is a bit like a relationship. Go at it slowly, build it strong, be careful to get to know others well and let love abound. Don't get caught up in the physical stuff. The activites and the games. The important stuff is the heart stuff.
"Now as to love the bretheren, you have no need for anyone to write to you, for you yourselves were taught by God to love one another; for indeed you practices it for all brethren who are in macidonia. But we urge you, bretheren, exel still more, and to make it your ambition to lead a quiet life. To keep to your own business and and work with your hands, just as we have commanded you, so that you will behave properly toward outsiders and not be in need." 1 Thess. 4:9-12
Love one another. Behave properly toward outsiders. Excel still more.
The first weeks of school are huge for campus ministries. With the freshman unaware of where to plug in, there is a major push to get campus names out there so that they know what their options are.
Friday night there were rumors that freshman would be coming out of Kinnick stadium by the packs and gaggles and bunches at 8pm. I showed up in my shirt with flyers and invites in hand and noticed lots of other people milling about waiting for the victims, er, freshman. Their flyers were a different color and I very quickly realized that I was standing right in the middle of 20 other people belonging to another ministry.
I felt a little like I was intruding. They had been there first, afterall. I wasn't trying to get my name out over theirs. If there had been a different corner to pass out flyers on, I would have moved. But as it was, I actually had friends in that ministry and there was no tension as I stood among them waiting.
What a moment. The moment when I stood next to someone in another ministry and we alternated passing out invites whilst encouraging each other.
When the freshman were gone there was a lot of meeting and introducing ourselves to the other students. It was all friendly and loving and gentleness and kindness. Words of encouragement rather than words of animosity.
Joy.
I've been here for 4 years now. In that time the University of Iowa went from being in the top 10 party schools, to number 2, and now THEE number one. To anyone on the outside, they could say that it has gotten worse. That the darkness has only gotten thicker and that the campus is more lost than before.
I will gladly be the one to tell you that the Lord is moving on this campus. There are seeds being planted and nurtured and the fruits of the Spirit are growing and there is fruit.
The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. There is much to celebrate here.
We are gaining. We're gaining ground. We're in a battle. There is a war going on and we are winning. Yes, we are winning.
University of Iowa: Number one party school in the US. Number one place to come if you want see the Lord work. Number one place to come if you want to feel needed as a believer. Number one place to actively live out the challenge of loving Jesus in the world. Number one place to practice being in the world but not of it.
"Go therefore, to the ends of the earth."
If there was ever a place that is the farthest end of the earth from where believers were sent out from Judea, it's probably Iowa City, Iowa.
If there ever was a place to live out the great comission, the University of Iowa is as good as any.
Is it hard to be a beliver here? No.
I think it would be hard for me to be a believer any where else. I need it. If it were anything less it'd be easy to become passive and apathetic. It'd be too easy for me to cease clinging and stop growing. It'd be too easy for me to become stagnant in my walk.
Press on.
"We are hard pressed on everyside, but not crushed"
See You At the Pole is coming up again, soon. I don't care how many people show up. But I shall love to pray with all the believers who choose to come.
We have work to do here. All of us. And we shall have joy in working in unity.
Friday, August 23, 2013
Life in the Last Week
Last night before bed I put my phone on silent and turned it face down on the desk on the opposite side of my room. I've been looking forward to doing that for so long. *sigh* And then I slept. I slept and I slept until there was nothing left to sleep. When I finally emerged from my covers and squinted in the light of the morning (first time I've had to that in a while) I looked over at my clock thinking I'd see that it was somewhere between 9 and 10.
7:37am. Phew! What a late sleeper I am. Well, it was two hours later than I usually do on a week day and my exhaustion had me in bed at 10:30. Plus I'm rested AND have the whole day ahead of me. Yay!
Well, rested is a general term I think. Intense activities won't calm down for a little while, but I'm okay with those. I like people.
Intense. That is what this week has been and that is the most suited description of our leaders retreat. I don't know how other ministries bring about unity and team bonding but ours operates a little like boot camp. I mean, last years team bonding activity was a little intense, but I loved the rush of it. I mean, sure we had to swim across a lake and back carrying a log in our arms and you had to run all over the yard doing various activities, and while we ended the thing tired and one girl threw up, overall it wasn't that bad. So as I went into this year's retreat, I was thinking it'd be intense but nothing too bad.
Ha well, sometimes I forget that one of our staff leaders was the strength training coach for the Jets football team.
This years leaders retreat activities:
-balance all 5 team members on a "lily pad" in the lake. (A large styrofoam floating pad). That wasn't bad, just took a little muscle control.
-Balance on a inner tube and catch a frisbee thrown out into the lake
-Answer 5 trivia questions. That doesn't sound bad either. Except you had to swim across the lake and back for every question you got wrong. (WHO WAS THE 9th PRESIDENT??)
-Speed walk a mile. Up and down hills. Keep in mind you are racing against all the other teams and timing is everything. It was actually 1/2 a mile to one of the activity stations and 1/2 a mile back. So it wasn't straight up a mile long race.
-300 push ups. (Guess which staff member chose this activity.. Jets coach guy, of course) We were able to split it up, though. I only did 60. (After I'd speed walked a mile, swam across the lake and back and a few other things) Does any other ministry have them do 300 push ups to get ready to lead bible studies??
-Kayak across the lake and back. This was easy. Apart from the fact that mine was filled with water when it was passed off to me and in my eagerness to turn around and race back to shore, I was dumped out into the water with an upside down kayak and a lot of mud. I was laughing at myself, but apparently one of the staff ladies looked out across the lake to see the upside down kayak and my oar but couldn't see my head above the water which incited a little worry and some one was sent in the remaining kayak to rescue me.
-Make it from one side of the yard to the other using 3 logs of wood. If you fall, you have to start over. The logs were heavy and it was a balancing act to have two people going on the logs.
-Pick a number and eat the mystery bag with the corresponding number. My team got to eat a large red onion. I enjoy onions, so I volunteered to work on it til I couldn't any more. That was rough. The acid in the onion hurt so bad I may have started to cry. But it was a little funny I suppose. Just how bad it was.
-Shoot a basket into the trash can in the yard from the upper deck. Every time you miss, your whole team has to run down the stairs, tag the trash can, and run back up.
-Drop three marshmallows consecutively into someone's mouth off of the upper deck.
-Get your whole team over a 3 1/2 ft high rope with out touching it at all. If anyone touches at any point, you have to start over.
-Read Song of Solomon passages out loud for everyone to hear.
-Build a spaghetti tower 18in tall with a marshmallow on top.
I think that's it. I can't remember if there was anything more. It might not sound that intense, but I'm still feeling it in my lower abs just a little. We went at this Amazing Race/Surivor challenge thing for 3 1/2 hours before a team finally finished and the rest of us bowed out with grace.
Those things are great for revealing people's character. You see how they treat their teammates under the stress of time pressure. You see if people will push their whole team to be the fastest or if they'll hang back with the ones who don't have the same capacities of others.
You see if people jump over the rope first themselves because they can, or if they are focused on getting their team over the rope. You see if they push eachother through the push ups or volunteer to do extra for some of their team mates.
You see how they treat the other teams with smack talk or encouragement. You see how they encourage eachother or just push to go faster.
You see if they want to win or if they just want to see their team get through it. I love that. I love seeing how a body of believers takes on physical and emotionally exhausting situations and brings in buckets of grace to wash over the situation.
Concession starts next weekend. 8 hours on your feet with drunk customers, half time slams, and the need for extrem caution as every cup, tray, hotdog, and lid must be counted and accounted for by the end of the game or risk getting charged. Extreme caution and extreme pressure for quick service makes for a very intense bonding experience for the Salt Company leaders. I'm ready. I'm excited.
It's just been a difficult week, emotionally. My transmission has gotten worse (if that were possible). Besides the fact that it can't go more than 35 mph. It randomly drops into neutral at the most inconvenient times like at the bottom of a big hill in heavy traffic. I can't do anything if my car dies in the middle of traffic. I've had this happen so many times to me before. It's never easier or less stressful. It's awful every time. So as the start of school approaches, the wonder after how I shall make it to class and such adds just a little more tension to my life.
*sigh* Life. And cars. I hate vehicle problems with all my heart and soul and mind. I hate the helplessness of being stuck in traffic with a car that won't go and smoke pouring out of the engine. I hate that my van can't go more than 35 mph and so it would take me 10 hrs to drive home and swap out for a new one.
7:37am. Phew! What a late sleeper I am. Well, it was two hours later than I usually do on a week day and my exhaustion had me in bed at 10:30. Plus I'm rested AND have the whole day ahead of me. Yay!
Well, rested is a general term I think. Intense activities won't calm down for a little while, but I'm okay with those. I like people.
Intense. That is what this week has been and that is the most suited description of our leaders retreat. I don't know how other ministries bring about unity and team bonding but ours operates a little like boot camp. I mean, last years team bonding activity was a little intense, but I loved the rush of it. I mean, sure we had to swim across a lake and back carrying a log in our arms and you had to run all over the yard doing various activities, and while we ended the thing tired and one girl threw up, overall it wasn't that bad. So as I went into this year's retreat, I was thinking it'd be intense but nothing too bad.
Ha well, sometimes I forget that one of our staff leaders was the strength training coach for the Jets football team.
This years leaders retreat activities:
-balance all 5 team members on a "lily pad" in the lake. (A large styrofoam floating pad). That wasn't bad, just took a little muscle control.
-Balance on a inner tube and catch a frisbee thrown out into the lake
-Answer 5 trivia questions. That doesn't sound bad either. Except you had to swim across the lake and back for every question you got wrong. (WHO WAS THE 9th PRESIDENT??)
-Speed walk a mile. Up and down hills. Keep in mind you are racing against all the other teams and timing is everything. It was actually 1/2 a mile to one of the activity stations and 1/2 a mile back. So it wasn't straight up a mile long race.
-300 push ups. (Guess which staff member chose this activity.. Jets coach guy, of course) We were able to split it up, though. I only did 60. (After I'd speed walked a mile, swam across the lake and back and a few other things) Does any other ministry have them do 300 push ups to get ready to lead bible studies??
-Kayak across the lake and back. This was easy. Apart from the fact that mine was filled with water when it was passed off to me and in my eagerness to turn around and race back to shore, I was dumped out into the water with an upside down kayak and a lot of mud. I was laughing at myself, but apparently one of the staff ladies looked out across the lake to see the upside down kayak and my oar but couldn't see my head above the water which incited a little worry and some one was sent in the remaining kayak to rescue me.
-Make it from one side of the yard to the other using 3 logs of wood. If you fall, you have to start over. The logs were heavy and it was a balancing act to have two people going on the logs.
-Pick a number and eat the mystery bag with the corresponding number. My team got to eat a large red onion. I enjoy onions, so I volunteered to work on it til I couldn't any more. That was rough. The acid in the onion hurt so bad I may have started to cry. But it was a little funny I suppose. Just how bad it was.
-Shoot a basket into the trash can in the yard from the upper deck. Every time you miss, your whole team has to run down the stairs, tag the trash can, and run back up.
-Drop three marshmallows consecutively into someone's mouth off of the upper deck.
-Get your whole team over a 3 1/2 ft high rope with out touching it at all. If anyone touches at any point, you have to start over.
-Read Song of Solomon passages out loud for everyone to hear.
-Build a spaghetti tower 18in tall with a marshmallow on top.
I think that's it. I can't remember if there was anything more. It might not sound that intense, but I'm still feeling it in my lower abs just a little. We went at this Amazing Race/Surivor challenge thing for 3 1/2 hours before a team finally finished and the rest of us bowed out with grace.
Those things are great for revealing people's character. You see how they treat their teammates under the stress of time pressure. You see if people will push their whole team to be the fastest or if they'll hang back with the ones who don't have the same capacities of others.
You see if people jump over the rope first themselves because they can, or if they are focused on getting their team over the rope. You see if they push eachother through the push ups or volunteer to do extra for some of their team mates.
You see how they treat the other teams with smack talk or encouragement. You see how they encourage eachother or just push to go faster.
You see if they want to win or if they just want to see their team get through it. I love that. I love seeing how a body of believers takes on physical and emotionally exhausting situations and brings in buckets of grace to wash over the situation.
Concession starts next weekend. 8 hours on your feet with drunk customers, half time slams, and the need for extrem caution as every cup, tray, hotdog, and lid must be counted and accounted for by the end of the game or risk getting charged. Extreme caution and extreme pressure for quick service makes for a very intense bonding experience for the Salt Company leaders. I'm ready. I'm excited.
It's just been a difficult week, emotionally. My transmission has gotten worse (if that were possible). Besides the fact that it can't go more than 35 mph. It randomly drops into neutral at the most inconvenient times like at the bottom of a big hill in heavy traffic. I can't do anything if my car dies in the middle of traffic. I've had this happen so many times to me before. It's never easier or less stressful. It's awful every time. So as the start of school approaches, the wonder after how I shall make it to class and such adds just a little more tension to my life.
*sigh* Life. And cars. I hate vehicle problems with all my heart and soul and mind. I hate the helplessness of being stuck in traffic with a car that won't go and smoke pouring out of the engine. I hate that my van can't go more than 35 mph and so it would take me 10 hrs to drive home and swap out for a new one.
Monday, August 19, 2013
My Summery of Adventures
I do not have a smart phone or an iphone or anything fancy pants like that. My phone, i've heard, is called a dumb phone. I doesn't do much more than provide me with an ability to text or call and take a few pictures. But! Who needs a phone that does more than that?
My wonderful little phone camera has been present for some of my favorite summer adventures and since I have come into possession of an SD adapter, I am now bring the stories of adventures to computer, phone and tablet screens near you! My summery of summer in picture form! Here now!
~June '13 ~
Gross cousins stop in Iowa City as part of their grand adventurous out West!!
These gorgeous girls were in my living room!!! waaaa!! During this stop, they met my friend, Brooks. This was especially wonderful because their choice of entertainment in their hotel room the previous night had been a show called Breaking Amish which led them to ask the most wonderfullest of questions and it was rather entertaining to listen to the conversation. Brooks eventually took them to an Amish family and had them ask their questions there instead.
What's an adventure without a sketchy van in a sketchy ramp? Well.. I mean.. it's just a good idea to check it out closer up.
I got to show them a little of my life in Iowa City and they got the grand tour of the Old Capitol. "This would be a great spot for a date" was stated several times, I think.
This summer was one with the most early mornings I've ever had ever. Not even school will usually find me out of bed by 5:15am, but more often than not, I'd be most my way to work as the sun began to rise.
Of course, just because you've seen the sunrise doesn't mean it's okay to be awake. One day I arrived at work to find that my 6 year old had set up my favorite chair with a pillow and one of her blankets so I could sleep whilst waiting for them to wake up. Awwwww.
Okay so one day at work, I came across the most AMAZING POP UP BOOK EVER!!!!!!! Hello, the LIGHT SABERS LIT UP WHEN THEY POPPED UP!!!!!!!! I was really amused by this for at least 32 minutes.
Besides the 6 year old putting 50 bows and clips in my hair my first day of work and then threatening to cut them out with a scissors when they got stuck, when the kids ran out of paper I was used as their drawing sheet. At least they wrote nice things..
When I went home for a bit we got to help mom with groceries. Rather than walk them through the porch, south living room, yellow room, and back hallway to the kitchen, we used the 10 of us "children" who were home and assembly-line styled the groceries to the kitchen. We were laughing hysterically and it was a lot of fun.
Every time I went home I got breakfast in bed. The week I went home to be with my cousins I got to sleep in Kit's room on the 3rd floor and it has THE BEST VIEW when you wake up! My little brothers were super sweet, too, because they even made me coffee with my eggs. I LOVE MY FAMILY SO MUCH!!!!
Goodbyes are always hard for our family... This was not posed, this was real life. Kit had to leave us for a man camp thing. Sad day.
One of my favorite nights ALL SUMMER! I laughed so hard I got the hiccups. So.. As you can see in the top picture, Ken is handing Carissa a cat. What actually happened was that Ken had captured the cat successfully. He had captured it upside down and continued to hold it upside down and he rocked it like it was a baby. He then passed it off to Carissa and it proceeded to poop on her and then run away.
The owner's mom in her most sympathetic voice said, "Awww... you squeeshed him too much"
Carissa then spent 20 minutes wetting and soaping her hair and her shirt and then lifting her hair up to her nose and exclaiming "I still smell it! It's still in my hair!" all the while we all kept laughing and laughing. After a bit she realized she had poop on her wrist and that's why she kept smelling it when she lifted her hair to her nose. Heeeheeehee. BEST.NIGHT.EVER.
Idk why this picture is SO BLURRRRRYYYYY... but, my sister got a new puppy this summer named Aurora, or Rorry for short. SO CUTE!!!! I like da puppy.
Monopoly!!! I was winning! Mwahahaha! The best kind of jobs are the ones where you are payed to play monopoly. Which I did for 3 days in a row. I had all the best ones with hotels all up in everything. My kid was badly bankrupt and I would let him do things like wash dishes, clean the kitchen, fold laundry, etc to be payed by the $500s. Which was a win win win situation for me because the house got clean and the kid had more $$ to pay me with when he landed on my properties.. which was all the time. Eventually I had to let him lose. What a fun game.
~July '13~
For the 4th of July I painted my nails so as to be a little bit patriotic. I haven't done a ton of nail art since high school, but I'm pleased that I haven't lost the feel for it all together. I love nail art. It's some of my favorite.
Communication on the 4th is THE MOST IMPORTANT thing. Pow wows and phone number exchanges are good to keep moms happy.
Sometimes we have to pack ourselves like sardines into the van so we all fit. (Not to worry, we are pros at this). We've been doing it since, well, forever. One time over the 4th, 11 of us were traveling in a van and a car to South Dakota to visit my brother and grandparents. The car broke down half way there and so all 11 of us, plus our suitcases and baggage, AND A GIANT VASE OF LILIES, all packed ourselves into the 7 passenger van.
We were able to secure what seemed like THE PERFECT place for fire work watching and settled ourselves down whilst waiting for it to grow dark and the show to start. When it got dark we realized we'd parked ourselves right under a street light. So... apart from having a spot in my vision for a while after the fire works were over, it was lovely.
Brooksy Bear though it necessary that he have 3 blankets for his firework watching experience.
Cuddling is a given in our family for everything.
They worked on roof tearing upping for a while too. What men.
One evening after connection group, we rolled piggies. I don't know how else to explain this game other than you shake the pigs and roll them like dice.
There was a day my children dressed as cows and got free meals from Chic-fil-a. So fun!
This was the evening from my Joy in Chaos post. I painted the top picture and the other pictures are of Amanda and Nikki respectively. I love them so much!! SUCH great friends. At about 10pm on this night we decided to drive to Kalona for an adventure.
On our drive down to Kalona we heard an Amber Alert for a kidnapped girl and it was frightening enough. Being a little shaken by that, we decided to read bible passages and listen to uplifting Jesus music to bring peace back into our hearts after hearing that. Upon arriving at the house where we were told we'd be meeting some men who would escort us out to the bonfire location, we noticed that all the lights were off. We got out of the car and we all kind of looked around a little skeptical.
Amanda-"Are you sure this is the right place, Fern?"
Fern-"yes. Brooks just said there would be people here to greet us."
Nikki and I walked toward the house not really sure what we were getting into and slightly frightened at the dark.
Nikki-"I don't know about this. I don't want to run into kidnappers :( "
At that moment, my friend Shawn jumped out from behind a vehicle yelling "KIDNAPPERS!!! AHHHH!!!" And he had a very large gun in his hand. We all screamed bloody murder and our heart rates increased exponentially. Poor Nikki. I turned around at that point only to see she had already sprinted the 50ft back to the car.
I'm not sure if there were any apologies offered. I think, perhaps, there was. After all, they tend to be gentlemen. But at the same time. I doubt if they were sincere apologies as the amount pleasure that showed in the laughter that came from the three of them seemed far more legitimate.
I can't say that I didn't find it quite thrilling, though. That whole night was my favorite night of the whole entire summer. And I like being able to say we were jumped by men with guns. That just adds to the adventure. Of course getting to say that we were then led into the woods for a little jont through stinging nettles and other such business as that is also a fun story to tell. Who gets to say that? Ah, my life is blessed.
Kalona is beautiful. I LOVE Kalona. I have quite decided I shall spend all my retired years in my old maidenhood living peacefully on a quaint little patch of land in Kalona. It's glorious. I'm fairly certain God modeled after part of his heaven. Perhaps the part of His garden He wants to share with me most. I just feel loved by God when I drive down there because it is so incredibly beautiful.
One day, we moved. I had stayed up til 12am packing the night before and was up at 5am getting ready for my friends who were to help me move. This day is one of the days I felt SOOOO loved by the Lord. It was a fun day!! So, I had guys show up as early as 8am and had guys with us even til 10pm.
Talking was fun. Packing the people into the van amongst the furniture was fun. All of it was fun. I laughed so hard my sides ached and tears streamed down my face. I love my friends. Plus, acts of service is one of my very top love languages so besides feeling loved by my friends, I just felt like is was Jesus. Jesus blessed me with the hands that made the job a lot less stressful and so I'm so very thankful for that.
Oh man. The mud on my van. THAT is a story. So, I grew up in rural Iowa. We have two kinds of roads: Paved and dirt.
Well, I mean, we call them "dirt" roads. I learned that there is a difference between dirt and gravel. I have always called every gravel road a dirt road.
So, one day we were driving to Kalona. Amanda and me and a girl that we'd met in a coffee shop one time. (Poor girl just had to jump right in with our crazy adventures, what a champ). And Amanda's GPS said we had to take this certain road. We had passed it the first time and Amanda had me turn back around. As we approached I was like, "what?? Are you serious? This isn't a road, it's a field entrance!" Amanda insisted that the GPS said this is where we needed to turn.
I was super hesitant and I asked, "You're sure? This looks sketchy?" She was quite sure.
I looked at it and saw that it curved and wasn't just a dead end and since the GPS said this was the way, it had to be the way, right? OH my goodness gosh. Quick sand. That's what that road was made out of.
It was a "dirt" road... at one point, i'm sure. It had rained that day and so what we'd actually gotten ourselves into was a mile long stretch of 6inch deep mud. As I got my whole van into and realized my van was slide ALL OVER THE PLACE we quickly realized that had been a poor decision. As it was, there was no stopping and no turning back otherwise we'd be stuck forever. Or.. at least until we called on some boys to rescue us. But, as we skidded and slid, we considered that it wouldn't probably be a willing rescue and probably not prompt, so we kept going. I was driving and at no faster than 5 to 10mph I had to turn my wheel all the way to the left and all the way to the right quite quickly as we fishtailed our way through this muddy field. Whether our new found friend from the coffee shop knew we were into Jesus or not, she found out quite quickly as I'd learned from previous Kalona adventures that praying outloud is always a good idea. I was praying, a lot. It was so stressful that I may or may not have shed a tear or two. EVENTUALLY, completely by the grace of God, we found ourselves on a gravel road. I've never been so thankful for gravel. We all burst out laughing as that had been one of the most ridiculous things we'd gotten into. What a mess.
One day at work I arrived at 8am and heard some banging and noises outside. I asked their father (who was still there at the time) what was going on and he explained to me that they had a chipmunk trapped in a rain gutter. :/ Oh joy. SO, for the next 3 1/2 hours they poked it with sticks and banged on the pipe to try to coax the thing out. (Poor thing.) Around 11:30am, the oldest one ran by telling me he had a brilliant idea. "What idea??" I asked. "I'm gonna get the HOSE!!" He replied. (Poor, poor chipmunk)
"I don't think that's a great idea. You've already caused him to go deaf and you've poked him with sticks all morning. Drowning him isn't very nice either." Never mind what I think about being nice to chipmunks, the hose was gotten and I was soon called outside to see it. As you can see, the water caused it to poke it's cute little head out of the storm gutter. Me and the three kiddos watched with awe and amazement at its cuteness as it slowly made it's way out. I took a picture, of course, because it was cute. Shortly after the picture was taken, the chipmunk exited the gutter with one final leap. YAY!!!!!
We cheered for a good three seconds before the dog ate it. Awww.. (poor poor POOR chipmunk).
This is now. LAST NIGHT! Oh my goodness. Did I mention yet that the beauty of Kalona makes me feel loved by Jesus?? Well, it gets better. I have been WISSSSSSSHING and WANTING to go on a hay ride for five years now. FIVE. Yes five. Every year I have searched and hoped, but have not come across one at the right time. :( I just love them a lot and being in Iowa City the last several years has been quite difficult as my heart very much belongs in the country. I'm a farm girl. I'm a nature girl. I love corn fields and green grass and dirt and fire.
So!! On Sunday my sister invited me along on a hayride she'd been invited to and had been told she could bring friends. My heart skipped a beat and than sunk quickly as I had already committed myself to babysitting for a church meeting Sunday night. *sigh* All my dreams. To wish for it FOREVER and have to turn it down.
Have I told you that I have been blessed with the BESTEST kind of friends?? My best friend, who could have gone on the hayride as well, chose to give up the hayride and take my place baby sitting so that I could go instead. Whaaaaaaaa!!!!! Oh man! I looked forward to it all day and then it came and it was the most wonderfullest thing ever!!!
I could write a book about last night alone. The people were welcoming and kind and loving and I felt so full of joy. I can't even begin to describe how loved I feel. I love the community there. It's like Rivendell. And I shall be like Bilbo and retire there in my old age and live amongst the Mennonite elves and be happy forever.
Today was my last day of work. We side walk chalked for hours. Then my oldest child rolled in the chalk til he looked like a pink and blue smurf. I told him to hose down. And he hosed me down. It turned into a big water fight with everyone. I was fighting for the hose when their mom got home. Haha.. so there was the baby sister soaked head to toe, hosing down the three children and the neighbor girl who were all attacking at once. :) What a fun last night. I'm sure the adventures are far from over, but it was a good summer. I left a lot out. But every moment was wonderful. I have blessed. I am loved and I am blessed.
My wonderful little phone camera has been present for some of my favorite summer adventures and since I have come into possession of an SD adapter, I am now bring the stories of adventures to computer, phone and tablet screens near you! My summery of summer in picture form! Here now!
~June '13 ~
Gross cousins stop in Iowa City as part of their grand adventurous out West!!
Okay so one day at work, I came across the most AMAZING POP UP BOOK EVER!!!!!!! Hello, the LIGHT SABERS LIT UP WHEN THEY POPPED UP!!!!!!!! I was really amused by this for at least 32 minutes.
I love bubbles. I had some really fun days at work.
Goodbyes are always hard for our family... This was not posed, this was real life. Kit had to leave us for a man camp thing. Sad day.
One of my favorite nights ALL SUMMER! I laughed so hard I got the hiccups. So.. As you can see in the top picture, Ken is handing Carissa a cat. What actually happened was that Ken had captured the cat successfully. He had captured it upside down and continued to hold it upside down and he rocked it like it was a baby. He then passed it off to Carissa and it proceeded to poop on her and then run away.
The owner's mom in her most sympathetic voice said, "Awww... you squeeshed him too much"
Carissa then spent 20 minutes wetting and soaping her hair and her shirt and then lifting her hair up to her nose and exclaiming "I still smell it! It's still in my hair!" all the while we all kept laughing and laughing. After a bit she realized she had poop on her wrist and that's why she kept smelling it when she lifted her hair to her nose. Heeeheeehee. BEST.NIGHT.EVER.
Baby kitties also make my heart really happy. The friend with the cat that was "Sqeeshed" too much had kittens that we loved to cuddle.
One night after work I got invited to supper with some friends and was told I'd be picked up. I must say, the night was gorgeous, the company was great and the ride was fantastic. I LOVE THESE GIRLS! I've known them since my very first connection group with Salt. They're so great.
I made a lot of bracelets this summer. This was my first. They tended to get more complicated and intricate and colorful as the summer went on. So fun! I love art things. Art makes me happy.
One time I drove home into the sunset (well a couple times) and all I could think was, "And she lived happily ever after." Not in a dark sense thinking I was about to die, but only that at that moment I was perfectly happy and knew I was driving towards more and more happiness and joy.
~July '13~
This was another time I drove home into the sunset. It was so beautiful. Sometimes I think the Lord does those sorts of things just for me specially. I feel so loved. I feel loved by sunsets and nature. The Lord loves me.
What is summer with out a trip or two down the river??? We did this. I LOVED IT!!
I spent most of my summer in pet land petting puppies. Besides the ones that peed on me, I really enjoyed this a lot.
This was the evening from my Joy in Chaos post. I painted the top picture and the other pictures are of Amanda and Nikki respectively. I love them so much!! SUCH great friends. At about 10pm on this night we decided to drive to Kalona for an adventure.
On our drive down to Kalona we heard an Amber Alert for a kidnapped girl and it was frightening enough. Being a little shaken by that, we decided to read bible passages and listen to uplifting Jesus music to bring peace back into our hearts after hearing that. Upon arriving at the house where we were told we'd be meeting some men who would escort us out to the bonfire location, we noticed that all the lights were off. We got out of the car and we all kind of looked around a little skeptical.
Amanda-"Are you sure this is the right place, Fern?"
Fern-"yes. Brooks just said there would be people here to greet us."
Nikki and I walked toward the house not really sure what we were getting into and slightly frightened at the dark.
Nikki-"I don't know about this. I don't want to run into kidnappers :( "
At that moment, my friend Shawn jumped out from behind a vehicle yelling "KIDNAPPERS!!! AHHHH!!!" And he had a very large gun in his hand. We all screamed bloody murder and our heart rates increased exponentially. Poor Nikki. I turned around at that point only to see she had already sprinted the 50ft back to the car.
I'm not sure if there were any apologies offered. I think, perhaps, there was. After all, they tend to be gentlemen. But at the same time. I doubt if they were sincere apologies as the amount pleasure that showed in the laughter that came from the three of them seemed far more legitimate.
I can't say that I didn't find it quite thrilling, though. That whole night was my favorite night of the whole entire summer. And I like being able to say we were jumped by men with guns. That just adds to the adventure. Of course getting to say that we were then led into the woods for a little jont through stinging nettles and other such business as that is also a fun story to tell. Who gets to say that? Ah, my life is blessed.
Kalona is beautiful. I LOVE Kalona. I have quite decided I shall spend all my retired years in my old maidenhood living peacefully on a quaint little patch of land in Kalona. It's glorious. I'm fairly certain God modeled after part of his heaven. Perhaps the part of His garden He wants to share with me most. I just feel loved by God when I drive down there because it is so incredibly beautiful.
One day, we moved. I had stayed up til 12am packing the night before and was up at 5am getting ready for my friends who were to help me move. This day is one of the days I felt SOOOO loved by the Lord. It was a fun day!! So, I had guys show up as early as 8am and had guys with us even til 10pm.
Talking was fun. Packing the people into the van amongst the furniture was fun. All of it was fun. I laughed so hard my sides ached and tears streamed down my face. I love my friends. Plus, acts of service is one of my very top love languages so besides feeling loved by my friends, I just felt like is was Jesus. Jesus blessed me with the hands that made the job a lot less stressful and so I'm so very thankful for that.
Oh man. The mud on my van. THAT is a story. So, I grew up in rural Iowa. We have two kinds of roads: Paved and dirt.
Well, I mean, we call them "dirt" roads. I learned that there is a difference between dirt and gravel. I have always called every gravel road a dirt road.
So, one day we were driving to Kalona. Amanda and me and a girl that we'd met in a coffee shop one time. (Poor girl just had to jump right in with our crazy adventures, what a champ). And Amanda's GPS said we had to take this certain road. We had passed it the first time and Amanda had me turn back around. As we approached I was like, "what?? Are you serious? This isn't a road, it's a field entrance!" Amanda insisted that the GPS said this is where we needed to turn.
I was super hesitant and I asked, "You're sure? This looks sketchy?" She was quite sure.
I looked at it and saw that it curved and wasn't just a dead end and since the GPS said this was the way, it had to be the way, right? OH my goodness gosh. Quick sand. That's what that road was made out of.
It was a "dirt" road... at one point, i'm sure. It had rained that day and so what we'd actually gotten ourselves into was a mile long stretch of 6inch deep mud. As I got my whole van into and realized my van was slide ALL OVER THE PLACE we quickly realized that had been a poor decision. As it was, there was no stopping and no turning back otherwise we'd be stuck forever. Or.. at least until we called on some boys to rescue us. But, as we skidded and slid, we considered that it wouldn't probably be a willing rescue and probably not prompt, so we kept going. I was driving and at no faster than 5 to 10mph I had to turn my wheel all the way to the left and all the way to the right quite quickly as we fishtailed our way through this muddy field. Whether our new found friend from the coffee shop knew we were into Jesus or not, she found out quite quickly as I'd learned from previous Kalona adventures that praying outloud is always a good idea. I was praying, a lot. It was so stressful that I may or may not have shed a tear or two. EVENTUALLY, completely by the grace of God, we found ourselves on a gravel road. I've never been so thankful for gravel. We all burst out laughing as that had been one of the most ridiculous things we'd gotten into. What a mess.
The brotherhood came to town!!! YAY!! I loved this a lot. It ended up being a crazy weekend and I was blessed to have them their for that.
This girl!! She's hott stuff. I got to go to her dance recital one lovely summer's night. She's gorgeous.
One night in Kalona, we went in the ditch. At 12am. I had worked 15 hours that day and was to be at work at 6am the following morning to work another 12. We were backin' up, backin' up, backin' up, backin' up, cuz our daddy taught us good. Well.. apparently not good enough. ( I wasn't driving).
However!! There were some nice men that LIFTED the car up and eventually tugged the poor thing outta the ditch. What a night. We arrived home at 1am and I got 3 hours of sleep before returning to work.
Last weekend was a grand meteor shower!! I asked my kalona friends for a field and I was offered a cow field and a non-cow field. I accepted the non-cow field. However, we ended up in a cow field anyways. So, this one night in Kalona.. My sister and her roommate and another friend and I drove down to look at the stars. We were offered to feed a little baby cow and of course we all accepted. We were told to climb onto the 4-wheeler so we could go find the baby cow.Being there 4 of us girls plus Brooks (the owner of the baby cow), I was elected to be the hood ornament. This being my second time a 4 wheeler ever, I've decided that hood ornament is not as great as riding in an actual spot meant for riding as i got TWO moths/bugs in my eyes on account they're attracted to the headlights.
It wasn't too bad tho. We fed the baby cow (which is what the picture is but you can't really tell) and then we fed the steers and then toured Brooks' house and then learned about his family and then learned about quilt making and then about the Amish and then about how his house was fused together... and eventually made it to the field where we were to watch the stars. What a great night! I loved it so much.
One day at work I arrived at 8am and heard some banging and noises outside. I asked their father (who was still there at the time) what was going on and he explained to me that they had a chipmunk trapped in a rain gutter. :/ Oh joy. SO, for the next 3 1/2 hours they poked it with sticks and banged on the pipe to try to coax the thing out. (Poor thing.) Around 11:30am, the oldest one ran by telling me he had a brilliant idea. "What idea??" I asked. "I'm gonna get the HOSE!!" He replied. (Poor, poor chipmunk)
"I don't think that's a great idea. You've already caused him to go deaf and you've poked him with sticks all morning. Drowning him isn't very nice either." Never mind what I think about being nice to chipmunks, the hose was gotten and I was soon called outside to see it. As you can see, the water caused it to poke it's cute little head out of the storm gutter. Me and the three kiddos watched with awe and amazement at its cuteness as it slowly made it's way out. I took a picture, of course, because it was cute. Shortly after the picture was taken, the chipmunk exited the gutter with one final leap. YAY!!!!!
We cheered for a good three seconds before the dog ate it. Awww.. (poor poor POOR chipmunk).
This is now. LAST NIGHT! Oh my goodness. Did I mention yet that the beauty of Kalona makes me feel loved by Jesus?? Well, it gets better. I have been WISSSSSSSHING and WANTING to go on a hay ride for five years now. FIVE. Yes five. Every year I have searched and hoped, but have not come across one at the right time. :( I just love them a lot and being in Iowa City the last several years has been quite difficult as my heart very much belongs in the country. I'm a farm girl. I'm a nature girl. I love corn fields and green grass and dirt and fire.
So!! On Sunday my sister invited me along on a hayride she'd been invited to and had been told she could bring friends. My heart skipped a beat and than sunk quickly as I had already committed myself to babysitting for a church meeting Sunday night. *sigh* All my dreams. To wish for it FOREVER and have to turn it down.
Have I told you that I have been blessed with the BESTEST kind of friends?? My best friend, who could have gone on the hayride as well, chose to give up the hayride and take my place baby sitting so that I could go instead. Whaaaaaaaa!!!!! Oh man! I looked forward to it all day and then it came and it was the most wonderfullest thing ever!!!
I could write a book about last night alone. The people were welcoming and kind and loving and I felt so full of joy. I can't even begin to describe how loved I feel. I love the community there. It's like Rivendell. And I shall be like Bilbo and retire there in my old age and live amongst the Mennonite elves and be happy forever.
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