Home Sweet Home!

River Adventure

Yesterday was a very interesting day and reminded me that MK's are very unique.  The MK group here at CIU had our end of the year party.  After we ate lunch, we planned to go tubing.  12 of us decided to go tubing.  It had rained earlier in the day, but it seemed to have cleared up.  As we drove to our beginning point, we noticed that the sky was getting dark and then we began to see lightning.  By the time we go to the river the sky was very dark and we knew that it was going to start raining any second.  We decided to go look at the river anyway.  We were in the middle of a bridge and it started to pour.  We ran the rest of the way and took shelter under a tree, just in time for it to start to hail.  You would think that would be enough to deter us from actually tubing.  Well, it didn't.  Knowing how unpredictable SC weather is, we waited the five minutes it takes for the weather to change.  The sky cleared up and the sun came out again.  So, we took the little hike to the river, then waited for the rest of the people and the tubes to get there.  While we waited, we saw a snake in the water near us.  It was small.  Finally we got our tubes and started down the river.  There were two problems:  There was no current and the wind was against us.  After paddling not very far, we decided to get out and walk till we found a place where the water was moving a little faster.  We walked not very far, till we couldn't walk any further.  Got in the water for two more seconds, then had to get out and climb over a dam of rocks.  Did I mention that most of us were barefoot?  Did I also mention that where had to walk there was a lot of broken glass?  After the rock pile, we got in the water.  The current was not very strong, so we still had to paddle a lot, but it wasn't as bad as before.  Finally, we were tubing and we could sit back and enjoy the rest of the ride!  Well, not quite.  A few minutes later, the sky got black again.  We made our way to shore, only to find it was just an island of sand.  We crossed it and waded to the shore of the river, just as it began to pour.  We were walking under power lines and there was a lot of lightning, so we quickly made our way under some low trees, away from the powerlines, just in time for the hail to come again.  We waited under the trees, that didn't shelter us much and the cool wind did not help either.  After it calmed down, we decided not to get right back in the water.  We knew that another river met the one we were on and the water would be moving faster after that point.  Since so much time had already passed, we decided to walk to that point.  There was an asphault path above us, so we climbed up the slope to it, passing the tubes up ahead of us.  Oh, did I mention that in the rush to get out of the storm I had slipped and was all muddy?  The path was flat so it was nice to walk on, except we were barefoot.  We also got to roll our tubes.  We made quite the sight: 12 wet and muddy people with tubes, walking beside the river.  We did get to see a beautiful rainbow while we walked.  Finally, we got to the place where we decided to get in the river again.  To get to the water, we had to carefully climb down an embankment, dodging thorns.  We made a line and tossed the tubes from one person to the next.  The water was moving along at a good pace and there were some "rapids!"  It was great, for the two minutes it lasted till we realized we needed to get to the other side of the river where the other river was, because that was the river we needed to be on to reach our destination.  The river was really wide and it was a combination of two rivers, so it was even wider.  We had to wade almost the whole width, because of the current and the rocks that were in our way.  On our way, we began to notice that the water of the other river was very cold.  By this time it was after 7.  We put off on our tubes for the final time and enjoyed letting the current take and avoiding rocks.  That was the best part of the trip.  We waved to the people in the apartment building that was close to the river.  The sun was going down and we started to get pretty cold, but we reached our destination pretty quickly.  We got out, then walked a little further till we got to the house we had been at earlier.  On our way we walked over a patch of thistles by accident.  OUCH!  So, anyway, we are all survivors, and none of got majorly hurt.  I had a lot of fun, and I would do it again, after my body stops hurting from this adventure.  My roommate came home, ate some food and went to bed, after we put lotion on our aching feet.  Oh the things that MK's do sometimes! 

I hope you liked my story.  I will be coming home this weekend, and I hope to see a lot of you at church on Sunday.

Five of the Six in SC with our man!  "Shelley" is in Jenn's hand.

  My favorite pic of me and Ruth!

  Circle of Friends

  Weirdos!!!

Thank God for Friends!

Happy Valentine's Day, Everyone!

My day was spent receiving and giving love to the ones I love here at CIU, but I have been thinking especially of the ones who are in other states, mainly the Six.  So, to show my love for them, I decided to update my Xanga since that will make four of them very happy.  So, this entry is dedicated to them.  But before I dive into mushy feelings for them, I just want to say that I love all of you who are my friends and I am very glad that God has blessed me with your friendship.  Micah, I love you the most.  I am so glad that you are my brother and that we are such good friends.

Ode to the Six

6 different personalities

5 different families

4 different schools

3 different birthplaces/countries

2 different climates

1 Church, 1God, 1 group of friends

God was definately the one who brought us all together.  We did not become a close group of friends until 8th grade.  Shelley and I had been friends from birth.  Jenn and Kirsten had always been best friends.  Miriam and Ruth were twins.  Mim and Ruth were from Maine, Kirsten was from Korea, the rest of us from Hanover.  Cherie moved to Haiti, Kirsten started to go to CBC, then Mim and Ruth moved to Hanover, and finally Cherie moved back to PA.  We began to build a friendship that lasted through High School and is still going on today.  We are now in 5 different states:  Cherie in SC, Ruth and Jenn in Georgia, Shelley in Ohio, Kirsten in PA, and Miriam in New York.  God is definately the one who brought us together and He led us to the places we are today.  He will continue to lead us in our seperate directions, but I know that we will always be friends.  I am so glad that I have the privilege of being their friend.  They are all unique girls who love God and are trying to serve Him in all they do.  I am excited to see how God uses them.  I treasure our times together and I always look forward to the times that all Six of us are together.  It's not the same when one of us is missing.  Here is a song that describes us perfectly:

Circle of Friends by Point of Grace

We were made to love and be loved
But the price this world demands will cost you far too much
I spent so many years just trying to fit in
Now I’ve found a place in this circle of friends
In a circle of friends we have one father
In a circle of friends we share this prayer
That every orphaned soul will know
And all will enter in
To the shelter of this circle of friends
If you weep, I will weep with you
If you sing for joy the rest of us will lift our voices too
But no matter what you feel inside there’s no need to pretend
That’s the way it is in this circle of friends
Among the nations, tribes and tongues we have sisters and brothers
And when we meet in heaven we will recognize each other
With joy so deep and love so sweet
Oh we’ll celebrate these friends
And a life that never ends
In a prayer
That will not be long before
All will enter in
To the shelter of this circle of friends

I love you, girls and I hope that you have had an amazing Valentine's Day, reveling in our Father's love!!!!