“I was welcomed by a hungry native spider…”
- Posted by under Life at Bethel , Travel
- Friday September 28th, 2007
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Hey everyone,
I know it’s been a while, but I feel the need to explain my absence. The first night I was here in the DR, I was welcomed by a hungry native spider while I slept…The bite wasn’t bad at all at first, but over time it got worse and the infection spread into my forearm. Needless to say the next week was an adventure with trips to the doctor for lots of pills and shots. The abscess on my arm finally burst on Monday and my arm is now on its path to recovery! All to say, my arm was not capable of typing for a while, and I am now able to update ya’ll on how I am doing in the DR!
We are in the middle of our third week of Spanish class, and things are going pretty well. Although there have been points of frustration for me as far as the language barrier, I have realized how much I have been learning here; not only from class, but through living with in the culture. I could not ask for a better experience so far. Because I am here for ministry, I have at times felt very insignificant and incapable of how God could use me when I cannot even communicate with the people. But through his strength and the encouragement from others, I have been slowly seeing a clear progress in my conversation skills.
Over the weekends, Students International has been taking us on mini “excursions†around Jarabacoa. We have visited a couple of waterfalls and done some hiking and swimming in the mountains. It is beautiful here! As I was on a run this morning in the mountains, I realized how grateful I am to see God’s creation in this way everyday. I hope it never gets old!
Funny Misunderstandings
Going to the Great Wall of China has got to be one of the most awesome things ever, but we wouldn’t know, because of a few pretty funny misunderstandings, haha.
So, we signed up last week to go to the Great Wall with the foreign church (which would mean foreign to China) here to spend the night at the Wall tonite, but there were a few complications… We decided to take a taxi to the church, which is about a 30 min. drive away, but an hour and a half in rush hour and we have to be there by 6, but to avoid leaving around 5 and getting there around 6:30 because of rush hour, we left at 4, and got there at 4:30…
So we go to the Subway next to the church, have dinner, and talk til 5:30, and decide to go outside to look for buses, but NOBODY was around! haha, so we call Rob (our instructor) around 5:50 to ask him what is going on; he makes some calls and finds out that they weren’t meeting at the church, but at some language school, a little far away, so he tells us to grab a taxi so he can tell the driver where to go…
We successfully get a taxi approx. 15 minutes later, and we hand the phone to the driver, and after about 10 min. of the driver looking confused, talking louder at the phone, and then looking bewildered, Rob just told us to get out of the taxi for a new plan…
A New Plan
Apparently Rob first told him where to go to meet the people, found out that we were probably late, and i assumed that the communication wasn’t very good and that’s why the driver kept getting louder, and then Rob just asked him to drive us to the Great Wall, but that would cost about 500 quai, which would be around $70 US and an hour and a half drive…
Overall, I think it was an awesome and fun experience, but i really want to go to the Wall, which i think we’re going to on Monday…
Welcome to my first blog! I thought I’d begin my leap into the blogosphere (is that right?) with a story that happened to me over the summer, and a great lesson it taught me.
Last Summer
One thing I really appreciate about being a faculty member at Bethel is the freedom I have during the summers. I certainly have a fair number of responsibilities (so don’t think I was just lounging around the house all summer!), but my schedule is much more flexible. I especially valued that during this past summer. My wife was on modified bedrest for her pregnancy with our third son, and she needed me home more. I was more than happy to serve and to have an opportunity to spend time with my family. (After all, weren’t these two of Jesus’ big priorities?) I still had a chance to work on several books that I’m writing, as well as take care of department issues, from home.
A Second Car
With the fall semester coming, and a third baby on the way, we were looking for a second car. Mind you, I said “car,” not “mortgage.” We didn’t want to pay a lot for the car, so we began by asking family if anyone had a car they didn’t want anymore. Lo and behold, two people offered us a car for free! Both needed some work, but the offers were a huge blessing.
A Surprise Plane Trip
In August, we decided that we’d take a car offered to us by a family member in St. Louis. This meant I needed to fly down there and pick it up. As a surprise for my five-year-old son, Jonathan (and to keep my wife from having to watch two little ones while I was gone), I booked a ticket for him as well, but didn’t tell him. I wanted it to be a surprise. Not only does he love planes, but his uncles (who are only a few years older than him) live in St. Louis, and he’d be staying with them.
At some point in the next few days, I let it slip that there was a surprise coming for him. (If you want to know the details why, ask me sometime!) His face lit up, and for the next week he kept trying to guess what the surprise was. “Daddy, is it candy?” “Daddy, is it a Rescue Hero?” “Daddy, is it ice cream?” I wouldn’t give in. He kept asking, but was pleading the fifth. I was very interested at what he was guessing, though. His mind could only think of surprises he’d experienced in the past, and there was no way he would come up with what was going to happen.
The day before the plane trip came, and you should have seen his face when we told him. I’m surprised he could sleep that night, he was so excited.
A Great Lesson
In the middle of his first letter to the Corinthians, Paul quotes Isaiah, saying, “No eye has seen, and no ear has heard, and no mind has ever conceived all that God has prepared for those who love Him.” (1 Cor. 2:9, Is. 64:4) Have you ever wondered what it is that God has prepared for you? One thing I learned from this experience is that my mind is unable to conceive of what’s in eternity. It’s just too far above and beyond my own past experiences. How could I possibly guess what’s in store? All I know is that God is good, and He has plans to give me a hope and a future (Jer. 29:11).
I also learned the delight that a father has in preparing a huge surprise for his children. I know that God delights just as much (okay, a whole lot more) in preparing a place for us for the day we’ll be with Him. Scripture assures us that “as a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear Him.” (Ps. 103:13) It also tells us that now “we see as in a mirror dimly, but then [we will see] face to face.” (1 Cor. 13: 12)
I can’t wait for that day.
Curiosity
So lately I’ve been kind of obsessed with crab meat. Janyne made it for us at her house when we first got there, and it’s really easy to buy and make with mixed vegetables. Once I started making this little dish, I just keep making it, then keep wanting more. It’s of course imitation crab, as it only cost me 40 rubles (under 2 dollars). This got me to thinking “How do you make crab meat?” “How do you make imitation anything?”
“How do you make imitation anything?”
I can understand fake sugar, as it’s just chemicals that crystalize and look like sugar. But how do they make fake meat? It’s meat! You can’t just throw a bunch of chemicals together and crab meat pops out. Can you?
Then I decided to stop thinking about this. Maybe I don’t want to know.
Story Time
“One day this girl was walking to class. It was a nice day with sunlight and pretty little birds hopping around on the ground. There was also some not so pretty and not so little birds that were kind of plodding (not hopping) around. These not so pretty birds, as previously stated, were big, but they were also black, with big triangle beaks. The girl didn’t mind them at first, but wondered why she never noticed they were so big before.
Suddenly, one not so pretty and not so little bird flapped it’s loud wings and flapped it’s way straight towards her head. The girl suddenly had a flashback of a blond woman screaming her head off at some other not so pretty and not so little black birds in a movie by Alfred Hitchcock. At the time she saw the movie she never understood why everybody freaked out about the birds so much. She knew it wouldn’t be pleasant to have birds pecking at you, but they were acting like it was the end of the world. Dumb people.
All these thoughts came in a matter of seconds, what actually happened was that the not so pretty and not so little black bird flew right over her head, not really all that close to be dangerous. The girl looked up and realized that she looked really dumb with her arms clutched tight covering her head and bent over cowering, so she quickly straightened herself and decided that the people in that movie weren’t so dumb after all. ”
The End
Let me just take a moment…
to complain.
These are trivial things that are not so trivial to me.
* No hot water for 40hrs. Not kidding. This has happened twice (the first time was only about 30hrs). So for 3 days I didn’t get a proper shower. Sounds gross (I felt gross). I did get to put my head under the shower and wash halfway with freezing cold water, but not the same.
* My sheets don’t fit my bed. The won’t tuck in at the top and bottom. So every morning it ends up that my sheets are bunched up and I’m mostly sleeping on the mattress. Plus I can’t pull the over sheets all the way up to my head or my toes stick out. So I always have to curl up.
* Cheap building. Zero, and I mean zero, soundproofing. In fact I think the walls somehow make it all louder. I can hear the girls conversation in the next room (not exaggerating, I can understand words even). And of course, I live right by the community bathrooms. So every 10 mins I hear the door slamming and locking. The shower running, and the toilet flushing. I swear it doesn’t even cross their mind to just close the door instead of slamming it. Oh! and it’s tile floors in the hallway so I hear the girls high heals click and echo every step to the exit. Pots and bowls clanking around in the kitchen, yup I hear that too!(I’m thinking of investing in ear plugs-shown at right) So all this means that I wake up at about 7 even though my earliest class is at 9:40. Not that I get out of bed, I just lay there and fume.
* Cafeteria food. Almost always consist of some sort of cubed meat (usually chicken) in some sort of sauce, rice or noodles, and some sort of salad with cabbage. Oh and soup of course, always soup, but I notice very little difference between the flavors. I actually miss Sodexho.
* Internet connection. You think Bethel is bad? It usually cuts out here somehow every 15-30 mins. I can almost always get back on, but it’s annoying.
* Toilet paper. They don’t give it to us consistently. I frankly don’t think we should have to provide our own, but that’s what’s been happening when they decide not to give us any (like this week).
I’ll stop now. Just had to get that out.
“Loving Russia”
Of course, these things aren’t the end of the world. It’s just kind of different. After a while they kind of build up to be something that’s annoying. These small trials will just make me appreciate home more. Most days these things don’t bother me. Matt and I usually end up laughing about them. Maybe by the end of my time here I’ll enjoy the hub-bub(is that a real word?) of the girls getting ready, and the cafeteria food. All in all I’m still adjusting and trying to live life to the fullest. I know no matter what, I’ll come away loving Russia.
Not much been happening here. Classes as usual. I have to write an essay for the independent study course I’m taking. I planned out the rest of my college life. That was interesting. Yesterday, we went to the Russian art museum again. It was good, we looked at Avant Garde painting (don’t ask me what it means, I’m still not for sure). So that’s life for now.
Alright, so this is try number 3 on the weekly tries at getting a blog done and I think that this is the one that is the most ordained by God. Therefore, here it comes!
As I was thinking about what to write for this week’s blog, I couldn’t figure out why I feel like this thing has to be so long and has to explore so much that happens in my life. I have been reading a book called 7 Practices of Effective Ministry and the chapters I am on are about “Narrowing the Focus†and “Teaching Less for More†and just getting good at just one or two things, making sure that each person, message, program or step, and group can be focused on those things that are most important. Sometimes, I will fret over what to write on this blog, or just worry about what I should say, how much should I say, etc. That said, I am just going to write and see what comes. Ready for a ride?
This year has already been a year of change for me and a year of a changing mindset for me and my actions, character, etc. So why all the change? That is a question that I am waiting for God to answer and make clear to me. Travis Beam, an awesome RD here at Bethel, has already mentioned to me that, “You seem more focused on your spiritual growth this year, Geoff.†I know that this is true and yet, with all of this focus, I still have problems hearing His voice on certain matters. I also ponder the reason for my longing to know more. Is that natural? I seem to think that it is more natural than I give credit for. It is interesting that I am writing all of this and yet, I won’t accept the answers that I come up with.
Through all of this I have realized one thing that is an underrated discipline that is not observed near enough in the lives of enough Christians; the discipline of reflection, meditation, and of just sitting and listening for the voice of God. If there is one thing that I have obviously changed in my life this year, it is my dedication to spending time in silence in the presence of the Lord. I don’t think that we can ever do it enough. However, I do realize that God calls us to do so much for His kingdom that sitting and chatting with Him will just not allow us to get those things done.
So, I think that I want to use this space to challenge you, whomever you are, to find a place to sit, relax, and just be in the presence of our GREAT AND POWERFUL God. If you devote an hour to Him, give Him an hour and a half. If you give Him 30 minutes, devote an hour and fifteen minutes. If you don’t give Him the time of day, try just sitting and praying and then listening and see how long it takes to hear God’s still voice. It can be so refreshing to sit in the presence of Our Lord.
Now, I realize that this is supposed to be a tool for you to gauge how you like our school and all the great things that happen at Bethel, but I think that this is one of the greatest things that happen here. Because of my experience at many different schools, I have been able to realize that this is a special place. Many of the things that we experience here on the campus is only possible on this campus and would not be able to be duplicated at any other school in this country. I firmly believe that. Hopefully I can be a catalyst for you to think about our campus. It really is an awesome place and we truly do want you here. Alright enough PR.
Confession: Too often I get caught up in the stresses of life- the nitty gritty frustrations, busyness, overwhelming schedules, school work- and that attitude overflows into the way I relate to God. I come to God to vent, to ask for help, and to share my concerns instead of coming simply to be with Him and rest in awe of His beauty, love and faithfulness. I have no doubt that God cares about the nitty-gritty in my life, but too often I forget to praise Him for what He has done and stand in awe of who GOD is.
So this semester, thanks to the nudging of a professor, I’m trying to focus on praise. This morning, I read a verse that blew me away and caused me to stand in awe of my beautiful creator.
“Holy, holy holy is the LORD Almighty; the whole earth is full of His glory.” (Isaiah 6:3)
…the WHOLE earth is FULL! every inch of the earth is inundated with His glory! –every person, every leaf of every tree, every animal, every cloud, every smile, every language, every sunset, every wind is SATURATED with the glory of God! We are surrounded by more of God’s glory than we can ever imagine, we just have to notice it and praise Him for it. It makes life so much brighter when I look at the bigger picture. Even though I feel overwhelmed by stress, I am literally surrounded by the glory of God!
Here are some pictures of the glory of God as I see it 
Its been a little while since my last post on my water woes (which got turned back on, though ironically today I found out that our hot water will be off again tomorrow), so I decided that I should once again provide Bethel’s website with more glimpses into my experiences here in Russia. Just when I feel that I have something to write about I find that Amy has already blogged about our trip to Pavlovsk and our skit with the students! I realize that I could add my own brilliant insight and perspective to those same topics, but my sense of pride and originality demands that I do something different. So instead of talking about the exciting things I’m doing, I thought I would say something about what I am hearing.
“Russkie Rok”
I have been having fun as of late trying to get a taste for some of the music here in Russia. A few days ago I went down to a store that sells CDs and DVDs that is very close to campus, just to browse and see what is out there. I have no real experience with modern Russian music (other than that mindless over-produced pop that pours out of speakers in public places in every single country on earth and sounds the same in any language) so I decided to just start buying some stuff at random. I passed over all the imported albums by English-language artists and went to the section labeled “Russkie Rok.” I had no idea what any of the bands sounded like so I was just going off of cover art and my own intuition. CDs are pretty inexpensive here. The two that I have bought were both new (they came out within the last two years) and cost 12o rubles ($4) each. It’s fun to buy something without having any idea of what it is going to sound like. The first CD I bought had a kind of mellow rock feel to it, with different moments reminding me of the feel of some songs by Dire Straits, the Eagles, and some smooth jazz. I’ve given it a few listens and can say with cautious optimism that I like it, even though I’m not a fan of any of the bands or styles that I just compared it to. The second album I bought has a stronger rock feel to it which is more to my liking. That makes me happy. I was afraid I would be subjected to late 90s American pop music (quite a few students in the dorms listen to it) my whole stay over here.
Russian Punk Band
To continue with the theme of music, last night I had the chance to watch a Russian punk band that was performing at the University. I had no idea that something like that was going to happen until I returned to my dorm and heard music blasting from somewhere. I went over to the door at the end of my hallway that leads into the assembly hall where we have chapel, and there was a stage set up with a band of Russians (they all looked like teenagers) playing to a fairly small, but enthusiastic audience of Russian youth. I stuck around for a few songs to see what it was all about. There wasn’t much stylistic variety or technical proficiency, but the guys had a lot of energy and I enjoyed it. Sometimes it’s just nice to hear someone shout incoherently over some basic chords at a ridiculous volume. If nothing else, it helps shake things up for me because my days here can get pretty routine. I plan on continuing to randomly buy Russian music in the hopes of finding a band I like as much as U2 or Radiohead, but even if I don’t it will still be a fun time exposing myself to music I probably never would have heard if I hadn’t come to St. Petersburg. Finding new things is always exciting, and being abroad for a semester is giving me so many chances to do just that. I’m beginning to appreciate that more and more and am really starting to enjoy being in Russia. The adjustment took long enough, but it has been worth it. Things are going well, and now I even have new music to listen to. What more could I ask for?
What’s different in Russia.
So I don’t really have much to say about today. It was Monday, I had class.
I guess the interesting this is that we went to the American Consulate and got a little speech about safety tips and a promo speech for the U.S. Foreign Services Department. It was actually pretty interesting. Nothing terribly critical or exciting, but it was different. So that was fun.
Different things about Russia
So since I don’t have much to tell you about I’m going to start a list of things different about Russia (since everyone asks all the time).
* Not a clean city. Beautiful city, but dirty sidewalks, trash and puddles everywhere.
* Women don’t dress for function, but for fashion. Spiked boots and miniskirts are a big deal here.
* Many Men like to wear these pointy loafer type shoes. I think they look like elves.
* You don’t hand your money to the cashier, you put it on a plate. Don’t ask me why. I find it annoying.
* You stand in line for EVERYTHING. It doesn’t seem to be a big deal to them, but 1/2 hour for grocery check-out is not okay in my opinion.
* Not to be stereotypical, but drinking (and smoking) really is a big deal here. You see it everywhere on the street.
* They don’t have street signs. You base directions off of how close something is to the metro station.
* Food storage. Not up to my mom’s standards (or really anyone’s that I know). Leaving the leftovers out on the counter for 2 days then eating them again is okay here.
* They eat later here. Two in the afternoon for lunch is normal. 8-9 for supper is typical. I like this. We should do this in America.
* If you’re barefoot (which I do often) even if it’s 80 out, your feet MUST be cold.
I have more, but I’ll add more at a later date.
Friends and Povlovsk
So after Friday nights silliness (Angelina Jolie and singing) I actually feel like all the students are so much more okay with me. So many of them talked to me that night (sometimes in Russian, which I just kind of smiled to). Many more are saying hi and actually smiling. So it feels good. Here are some pictures from the night.
These are mostly the upperclassmen doing skits. They were funny even though I couldn’t understand the words. The last one is of me with my dying Angelina Jolie hair and make-up and then my roommate Sveta (middle) and her friend Olga.
Pavlovsk
So Pavlovsk is this BEAUTIFUL park out in the suburbs. It was given to Paul I by Catherine the Great and was built to be a landscape park. I love it! I love it! I love it!
The fall was falling in warm gentle colors and everything seemed so peaceful. Matt and I took a ton of pictures. Probably more then you want to see, so I won’t put them all here. Just know that I feel like I could live in this park. If it didn’t cost 70 rubles to get there, get in, and get back I would go every day. (I know 70 rubles is only like $2.50, but here it’s a lot) Here’s pictures.
This last picture I’m making bigger, because I took the picture and I’m especially proud of it. I also took the one of the bridge. But this last one I really really like for some reason.
Dehydrated
So, being in China’s pretty sweet, but one thing I didn’t quite enjoy was being dehydrated… nope, not a good feeling, haha. After like the first week or so, we were walking around a lot, and I guess I shoulda seen it comin, but nope, didn’t feel too good for the next couple days, haha. so make sure wherever you go, drink lotsa water…. yeah…
So far, we went to quite a few malls, the biggest bookstore in Beijing, Tiananmen Square, and the Summer Palace. All pretty sweet sites. So, i have some pics, and I’m gonna post them in another post, because I’m havin problems w/ the site right now, lol.
What a week!!
Emotion. Tears. Celebration. Reflection. Commitment. Desire. (I am trying to cover all the things that Spiritual Emphasis Week brings to a Bethel Student) All of these and more are some of the things that as Christians we feel when we are put ourselves into a time of deep, powerful, and intentional places where we expect God to meet with us and to just talk with us as we do here at Bethel for Spiritual Emphasis Week. Last week was that awesome week that we get to really get in tune with what the Spirit has for our lives. It is interesting that we always emphasize this on the second full week of school. I also find it interesting that we allow ourselves to believe that we should be this deep and in tune with the Spirit for just one week out of the year.
Wow. Had to step back for a minute. I didn’t mean to get so in deep in the first paragraph! I also didn’t know how I was going to tell you that I have to use lots of pictures, so I am going to insert random pictures in here so I can say I used pictures!
Alright, so that is fun, right? Moving back into the topic at hand, I don’t really know how to describe for you what the effect of the Holy Spirit is like when you get into the swing of things here at Bethel and more specifically, Spiritual Emphasis Week. Have you ever just sat and pondered how the Holy Spirit works in your life on a regular basis? I think that that is the best way that I can describe Spiritual Emphasis Week, because it can be some of the most important things of this week. Just sit back and realize what all God has done for you so far, and come to the knowledge of what God has for you in the near future. Sometimes, God reveals major plans that He has for you and commands that you obey by convicting your heart to comply. What an amazing time in the experience of a Bethel College student.
Changing Clothes
Because I feel like being real with you and giving you the best representation I can of how Bethel can be a life-changer for you, I want to share with you what God has done for me this year, especially right after Spiritual Emphasis Week. I am a football official for the IHSAA and I have gotten heavily involved in that process of becoming a pretty good official. That involves getting heavily scheduled for games and being at many meetings. The jist of it is, that I don’t have much time.
This past week, the Holy Spirit was so alive and God spoke to me and told me that I was too busy. I knew exactly what that meant, unfortunately. I know that I want to follow God and be so close to Jesus, but I really was enjoying most of the things I was doing with officiating! God wanted it and I had no choice but to give it to Him.
As of now, God has gotten me heavily involved with the Men’s Group that I am getting the opportunity to be involved in and has given me the ability to give away games when I have other, more important, events to be a part of. This has been a true blessing and just goes to show me that when I completely put faith in Him, He gives us great returns.
Giving to Him
This past week has given me the opportunity to see how, when you give it to God, He will use you in ways that you never thought you could operate. This week, I gave up most, if not all, of my officiating for football. This was something that I was deeply involved in and had begun to make a name for myelf as a good official. (Just to sound smart will I use the next line. I might remind you that I AM NOT a Shakespearean Scholar) “Ah, but there’s the rub.” It was for me and not for Him. I have been able to realize that there are bigger things that I am called to do for Him. This week, I have been able to minister unto my peers that are struggling with things. Obviously, I can’t go into detail, but it has been an amazing week for me discovering where I am supposed to be in the end of this great journey.
It is truly amazing what God does when you give it to Him.
A New Direction
So after this past week, I have kinda, sorta become stronger in my faith and can more assuredly live what I believe. Because of that, I wonder what else God is going to want from me. What is going to happen when basketball season rolls around and there are basketball games that will be played. This is an arena of life that I have been pretty bad in my witness here at Bethel. Is this something that God is going to want me to drastically change or simply give up? This is going to be something of a discussion point for me and Him. We’ll see how it goes.
Something Fun
So I have decided that I need something that is a constant. Something fun to look forward to after these really, long posts. That said, I will be leaving you with a great picture of me that probably will embarrass me and I probably shouldn’t put it out there, but I am going to do it, for you. Why? I don’t know. Chalk it up to the fact that I love you. Yeah that sounds good. So, Here it is. Take it or leave it. Ha Ha. Keep the comments nice :)!
So, not so bad on the first one, eh? Well, You have a blessed week and I will talk with you later! SEE YA!
To Novgorod, and beyond! (Not really)So here, finally is my update. Procrastination has come to back to hurt me, so I’ve been unable to spend time on the internet. However, now I am caught up and have some time to fill you in on the excitement in my life. Novgorod
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My roommate calls them “foot stomping moments”… the times in life when everything seems to be connected and God uses many different situations, songs, verses, etc. to teach you one unified message. It seems that everywhere you look you find another piece to the puzzle or another affirmation of the same message God is speaking to your heart. The last few days have been full of “foot stomping moments” for me. The message that I keep hearing over and over again is a message of true faith. True, sincere faith isn’t just religious, it doesn’t just happen on Sunday mornings or whenever I open my Bible. It has to be infiltrated into EVERY area of my life: the way I treat people, the way I am a steward of everything God has given me, the way I allow the Holy Spirit to transform my life. True faith is about living my life by the power of the Holy Spirit so that others can see Jesus when they look at me. What an amazing goal: to allow God to mold me to be more and more like Jesus every day!
Hooray for weekends!
This weekend some of my friends and I had a bonfire, which turned out to be extremely cold! It was great to get off campus for awhile and just hang out, all homework and stresses aside. My roommates and I decided it was really important for all of us to take time to just be together. We’re living proof that a nursing major, two ASL interpreting majors and an Elementary Ed. major who’s student teaching (all seniors) can still find time to have a social life and enjoy each other’s company.
“I am definitely no longer in America”
Getting used to the water situation in St. Petersburg has been one of the little adjustments to life in Russia that remind me each day that I am definitely no longer in America. Last night the hot water to our dorm was randomly shut off. There were signs posted about it (which I can’t read since they are in Russian and the amount of Russian that I know is very very slight, although growing daily) and a student told me that it would be turned back on at 11 that night, but 11 came and went and the faucet still only poured out freezing cold water. It’s the same way again this morning. I talked to Jim, an American who works at the University, and he said he had no idea when the water would be back on. He told me that things like plumbing and electrical work are kind of falling apart here at SPCU since they really don’t have anyone on staff to deal with it. That means that we have a number of leaks and water frequently on the floor of the bathrooms (although it is much worse on Amy’s floor which is right below mine). It’s not that bad, it’s just a minor inconvenience that reminds of how much I do have at Bethel and in my own house. Having things like unlimited internet access and meals provided for you were just common place before I got here, but now that I have to buy my internet time based on how many megabytes I use, provide my own paper if I want to print anything, and cook most of my meals (something that I admit I was and still am ill-prepared for) I can look and see just how many little things are provided for me back home. It’s nice to gain a little bit of perspective on things that way and continue to develop a stronger sense of gratitude, although I do hope that the water comes back on soon!
WOOO!!! We are SAFE!!
Haha, it’s been an awesome trip so far. Yesterday we basically trekked for about 6 hours, seein a few malls, a couple bookstores, downtown, and some other sweet stuff. One awesome place we went to though was Tiananmen Square!! oh man, they’re settin up for some big festival on Oct. 1st, and it looks sweet!! they’re basically making structures that mean a certain idea or concept, or mini monuments, like the Great Wall, and Temple of Heaven.
Even though I’ve grown up in Korea, there are still a few things that were different in the city. There are a lot more people on bikes, crazi-ER drivers (lol), and really cool shops, just to name a few.
I recommend any Bethel student to take at least 1 semester abroad, and if you’re one of those people that hide behind the excuse of your major not letting you, then look it up again, because there are a couple trips that are letting nursing and education majors go on.
Sorry, no pics yet!, but there will be soon!!
Holy Cow!
What a new adventure for me as we begin the 2007-2008 Bethel College Academic Year! As corny as that sounds, I am pretty pumped about this year. This will be my second year here at Bethel and it comes after one of the best experiences I have ever had as a student. I am new to this “blogging” thing so, if I don’t do something right… I AM SORRY
A Brief History
As I begin to blog I should probably relate myself to some of you out there that are looking to come to Bethel. I began my Higher Education journey with a year at Purdue University as a Industrial Management Major. It was my goal to make lots of money and go to a school that I had loved for many years. From Day One, I was pretty sure that I had made a choice that was going to come back to haunt me. However, I tried to stick it out and make it through. God had other plans however, and I was deemed Scholastically Ineligible for the next year. For those of you who don’t like big words, that meant that I had flunked out. Pretty awesome news to tell your parents as you drive back from the last day of finals. That said, failing out of Purdue was a blessing in disguise.
My second stop for school was at Ivy Tech Community College of Indiana in South Bend and Elkhart. This was to get me back on my feet and eligible for most standards. I was there for a semester and did what I had to do to get grades. I then moved to Indiana University of South Bend and planned to be there for the rest of my college career. I had planned to get my Social Studies Education degree and teach senior high Government and U.S. History. No plans to go to Bethel College or to follow God’s plan for me.
A Change in Direction
It was the Winter of that year at Ivy Tech/IUSB that I had a real Romans Road experience working with the Youth at my church and one of the events that we were holding that I realized that IUSB was not good enough for the plan God had for my life. I started talking to my Youth Director, Jon Andrews, and he referred me to Dr. Terry Linhart (Dean of Religion and Philosophy) [great person to talk to about anything] and we began discussing the possibility of coming to Bethel. After much praying and many discussions with my parents, financial advisers, and my Youth Director, in August of last year, I set foot on Bethel’s beautiful campus as a student and couldn’t really believe it.
Finding My Niche
As I began my time here at Bethel, there is one thing that I noticed: I had a very exclusive experience in comparison to the people I was beginning to interact with in my classes and through the activities I was participating in. As I got more and more involved with groups and made new friends, I was amazed at how quickly everyone accepted me and wanted to get to know my story. One thing I realized quickly was that I loved it in my new place and I came to know that I was in the right place for my education and college experience.
Jump to the Present
I begin my blogging in the middle of Spiritual Emphasis Week, or as my Communication Theory Professor affectionately calls, SPEW week. This week we are focusing on our connection to the spirit and how we interpret the way we react to the spirit. This week is usually met with great anticipation by upperclassmen and freshmen alike, and usually leaves many in a state of great contemplation about their current situations and their relationships with God. For me, I get so excited for what God has in store for our campus during this week. As this week progresses I am sure that lives will change. They always do in some capacity. It’s just something about this place that is so amazing. Whenever we, as a campus community get together, it just seems that God wastes no time getting involved and making Himself known.
Well, I have to leave you with something fun and I was told to use LOTS of pictures, so hopefully this one will be a great one for the blog and you will love it, but this is something fun and it really means a lot from me to you.
Oh man, first post, the day before we leave for China, and last but not least, my birthday, haha.
Man, these past few weeks have been pretty crazy, and i couldn’t even imagine how i coulda done it all with classes… I guess I’m in the process of packing/seeing all my friends before i leave. *sigh* it’s more of a feeling of anxiety more than anything. No nervousness, no fear, just an eagerness to go. It’s gonna be really sweet to see what God has in store for me.
“I have a confession to make”
Hello everyone! Before I start writing any exciting stories, I have a confession to make: I’ve never had an online blog before so this will be an exciting adventure! Hopefully throughout this year I’ll be able to share stories with you that will allow you to see a bit into my life, but also see a glimpse of how life is at Bethel.
Being a Senior is a strange feeling. Sometimes I think I like it, other times it’s hard to get used to. The thought of graduation next spring is a bit frightening, but I suppose I have all year to get used to it I found a quote by Ralph Waldo Emerson this summer that seems to apply to my life (and this year) SO well……
“All I have seen teaches me to trust the creator for all I have not seen.”
Isn’t that amazing? The more I think about it, the more it proves itself true. God has never proved Himself unfaithful or unworthy of my trust. He ALWAYS comes through, even when it’s in ways that I didn’t expect or don’t understand. This GOD, who is so faithful and SO trustworthy, is the One that I can trust to bring me through my senior year and every other year after that. AMEN.
