Six Weeks In
- Posted by under Life at Bethel
- Wednesday September 30th, 2009
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Wow!! Already six weeks into school! I’ve been keeping busy with school, music, and basketball…..
School… So far classes have been really good. French is a little harder than I thought it would be, but it isn’t too bad. In anatomy we are dissecting a cat! I’ve dissected frogs and worms before but never a cat. I felt kind of sorry for it when it looked up at me with its big eyes. It was also way bigger than I thought it would be. I’d say it weighs at least 25 pounds! Besides that I’ve been kept busy getting ready for our first test. Although I still have a few days I don’t know if I’ll be ready.
Basketball…. Has been going great! I landed on a team mates foot yesterday and sprained my ankle. Being injured is no fun, but Linda and Sara do a great job of getting those of us limping around back to normal. We are getting into our second week of practice! Conditioning is over and we’re putting in plays and defenses so we can be ready opening day. I’m really looking forward to our first game against IUSB. Can you say crosstown grudge match?
Music…. “Music washes the dust away from our day to day lives.” I don’t know who said this, but they got it right. When I’ve gotten bogged down with school I’ve been able to get away and play. I’ve been learning a lot from the lessons I’ve taken this year, and I’m having a great time with Vespers worship.
Prevent the Flu!!! Clean your room!!
Even though I really hate throwing up and being sick, this whole clean your room thing still doesn’t happen for some reason. Maybe it is because there are four dudes living in a small space. I don’t really know….What I do know is we are cleaning now haha. When there’s the possibility of being fined money, cleaning gets really easy. We are poor college students after all…….
Also, when our food supply is being threatened we act swiftly. Case in point, we had a bit of an ant problem earlier this year. We knew we had a problem when we left a box of doughnuts on the counter for about five minutes. When I opened the box to get a little late night snack I was greeted with a swarm of little thieves. We had to do something. We decided to get some poison the next day. This resolve was farther reinforced when one of my roommates got a little extra “texture” on a tums he popped in his mouth. It was dark, but he knew right after he put it into this mouth that something was not right. lol. Well we got some traps and watched. One by one the ants came marching in. It was really entertaining. Not watching the ants, but watching one of my roommates rolling around on the floor screaming at the ants to go tell their friends about the great food. It’s not really surprising he was so into it considering he was the one that got the little surprise on his tums… Long story short, we haven’t seen ants for awhile….
So now it looks like we need to get the vacuum out to fight off the dust bunnies. They aren’t taking our food, but they might get some of our money if we don’t get them.
No ant is safe!
Just live and learn = my life right now as a college student.
It’s been crazy lately with finishing my first painting (ever!), and having my first tests in two of my ASL classes. One I felt really confident about, but didn’t end up getting the grade I expected. I immediately wanted to punish myself for not doing as well as I thought I should. Then the other tests I took left me feeling like I was going to fail. I started to sink into a mini depression, but then thought better of it. I mean, really… how is this going to help me by getting all upset about something I can’t change? I can’t fix a grade that’s already been given, but I CAN prepare myself better for the next one. So this is my declaration to not be upset with myself, but to take that and learn from it. It’s all I can do.
Honestly, I’m not sure what to write about besides this so I’m going to call it a night for now and hopefully blog something fun over the weekend 
So for those of you who didn’t know before, I had an extremely annoying cricket in my room. It would wake me and Alysha up every morning, earlier and earlier. We have searched high and low for this cricket all over our room without success, but thank goodness last night I ate a bowl of success right before bed time lol. Last night Alysha and I had a discussion about what would happen the next morning when we would be awaken by the annoying chirping sound of “el grillo”. She said that she would definitely be awaken by it, so just to ask her to kill it. Why was it that when I was awaken this morning at 3:07 a.m. by “el grillo” that she was not up!? Every morning the cricket moves, and this morning I heard it close to me. I immediately grabbed a flashlight and searched the room with no success. I decided to lie back down and put my headphones in, which I could still hear the chirping through, when it chirped again, and I was convinced that it was somewhere by my head! I’m a big city girl, I HATE bugs! I again looked by the head of my bed only to find what I thought was “el grillo”. I can also be overdramatic sometimes, which is why I started jumping on my bed in fear screaming “IT’S BY MY HEAD!”, thus awakening poor Alysha. She made me lock myself in the bathroom while she captured it. When she was done we celebrated in victory and decided to sleep in the same bed (I was a little scared lol). As we were lying down trying to fall asleep to spanish cartoons, we heard it. “EL GRILLO”!!! We had joked about it sending others after us for vengance, but we never thought it would actually happen! So once again, I get sent into the bathroom, while Alysha looks for the cricket lol. I sat in the bathroom in suspense when I heard Alysha’s shouts of victory. She caught it! then we realized that the first “cricket” that we caught wasn’t a cricket at all, but a huge cockroach! YEAH I KNOW! But at least we caught the real “El Grillo”. Now we can sleep in peace.
The cockroach that we THOUGHT was “El Grillo”
I only got video footage of the REAL “El Grillo”, so I have no pictures available : /
I’ve been here in the Dominican Republic now for 2 1/2 weeks and I still find that I am learning more and more each day. I live with a Dominican family and have Spanish classes for 3 hours each day. My time spent at my new “home” with my new “family” has been a stretching time, but also a very rewarding time. I have a mom, dad, sister and brother. I don’t have a roommate from Bethel like all of the other students, so it has been a little different and difficult at times, but God is good and put two Bethel students at a house next door with my new “extended family.” Dan and Cory have now become my cousins, so I see them on a regular basis outside of class.
As for the cockroaches and mosquito nets, these are things I encounter almost everyday. I sleep with a nice bright blue mosquito net over my bed so I don’t get eaten alive at night. I never thought I would be so thankful for a mosquito net. My best cockroach story so far is about the one I found when I grabbed the roll of toilet paper. I had part of my hand inside of the cardboard roll and I felt something inside of it so I cringed and dropped the roll and out ran a cockroach. Now, it doesn’t surprise me much when I see flys, spiders, cockroaches, ants, or even a giant slug crawling across the wall during breakfast.
With all of the cultural changes, among other things, I am being stretched. Overall though, everything is going great and I am enjoying being here and bonding with my group!
It’s almost midnight and I am finally back to my room! I starting the morning off with breakfast in the DC, followed by taking chapel attendance. After chapel, I had class from 11-2 and then ate lunch. After shoving down a sub at the Acorn, I headed over to Wiekamp for volleyball practice. I left practice a little early in order to make it to my 5:00 Senior Year Experience class with Dr. Bob. After this fun filled (no, really!) 1 hour class, I went down a floor in the AC just in time to sit through my 3 hour night class until 9:00 p.m. You think the fun ended when my class did? Think again! I headed back over to the gym for an all-athlete meeting (last one ever-weird!). I quickly headed back to the Lodge so I could make it to, yet, another meeting! This last meeting of the night was for Student Council, which I have been a part of the past 3 years. With new faces and fresh ideas, Student Council is sure to make a positive impact on Bethel’s campus this year! On my way up to my room at 11:00 p.m., I stopped by my friend Michelle’s room so I could check out wedding dresses she had been looking at (she wasn’t avoiding studying or anything!). Just as I was about to grab the handle of the door to enter my room, someone texts me and wants to go to Kroger-I made sure it was a short trip! Ahh! Contacts out and sitting on the couch eating my roommates birthday cake…what a perfect end to the never ending day!
After this day, I am ready for anything tomorrow throws my way…but 8:00 a.m. class- really?!
Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.
-Matthew 6:34 NIV
I think most of the freshman class knows about poison ivy now. During our service project, for orientation, we ended up pulling weeds in a poison ivy-infested area. I didn’t know because I’m such a city girl. It wasn’t purposeful but most of my block ended up with poison ivy and many other freshman, as well.
Well, the other night, my friend Melisa and I went on a grand adventure. I was working on homework when she showed me her ginormous poison ivy area on her leg. It was very infected and so she told me she was going to go to the med center. “Alone?” I asked. Needless, to say, homework got shelved for the evening and Melisa and I headed out in her ancient car named Bernard to the med center. Who knew it was going to be the funniest night ever. We soon became friends with both nurses, the receptionist, and the doctor. Mike was a nice receptionist who we later found out was a paramedic. The nurses, Mary Ellen and Debbie, were hilarious and we were able to make them laugh hysterically. We ended up laughing and sharing lots of stories while Melisa got medicine for her poison ivy. And then, we met Dr. Papoola. Now, Dr. Papoola was probably the coolest doctor I have ever met. She was from Africa and had a beautiful accent and she continually made jokes and laughed with Melisa and I (or maybe laughed at us…). I have never had a hospital/medical trip be so funny, but it was!
We were so impressed by the service of the medical staff, that we ran over to CVS and bought them each a chocolate bar and wrote them a card. We both felt so strongly that we needed to mention Christ to them. I don’t know what will come of those cards but the Lord knows. I hope that they were able to see the joy of the Lord bubbling out of us and want to find out more about it. We definitely enjoyed planting the seeds, though, and now we can just pray for them.
On a side note, it was Spiritual Emphasis week last week! It was so powerful and refreshing. The Lord worked and healed areas of my life that I didn’t think were possible. The night time chapels were so good and I’m so glad I went to them. Thursday night, freedom just broke out during worship. We were all worshipping uninhibited before the throne of God. It was beautiful. Can’t we have Spiritual Emphasis week more than once a year?
We just got back from Santiago. We went to a museum called Centro Leon and we also went to the monument. That monument is the only name I know for it because that was the only thing I heard it referred to as lol. My shoulders are on snake-peeling mode and I kind of look like I have some kind of skin disorder. But other then that I am still as healthy as I was when I got here. So, sometimes I like to think that I am a photographer, though I’m not, and I’m not always so good at taking pictures but I still do it anyways lol.
Wow… where to start…
Well so much has happened at Bethel already and I’ve barely even been here a month! I’m a FYE block mentor for block 4 and I’m loving it! God has just gone above and beyond what I prayed for…
The biggest event to happen so far at Bethel is spiritual emphasis week. The speaker was fantastic, the music was fantastic, and the atmosphere was fantastic. God challenged so many of my friends this past week. I feel like God really has a purpose for me being at Bethel this year. He’s put me in so many situations where people have just opened up to me and I’ve been able to grow with them. PRAISE GOD!
In other news: the music ministry teams are about to start! I’m pumped to get to know the new team and to beat box with my friend Cornelius I also just got a solo in concert choir where I’m supposed to sound like a little boy and sing a high E (That’s a real high note even for a girl).
Well I look forward to keeping this blog thing up and I’ll write more soon
God bless
-Nate
God has been doing so much with me in this first month of school. I feel like I’ve grown so much since last year and even throughout the summer, but just even in this past week, God’s shown me so much that He is stretching and refining me in. It makes me realize that as Christians, we never stop growing or learning.
It’s insane how much you can grow in one day and yet still have so much more to learn in the coming days. I love it! I admit that some days I’m not really a fan of this process. This attitude emerges when I’m weary and so tired for striving, that’s when He reminds me to turn to Him.
So many times this year (already!) I have felt overwhelmed with my duty as an RA, being a sophomore student in college, being homesick, having a long distance relationship, and all of my projects that have to be done in American Sign Language (my major). It’s in that time that God gently, but firmly reminds me to ask for peace and reassurance. When Foster Christy came to speak for Spiritual Emphasis week, he dove right in. The Spirit was moving and he was obedient to it. I learned so much more just seeing how obedient he was to the Spirit than when he actually spoke. I’m not saying what he said wasn’t important, but that for me, his obedience spoke louder than his words.
I’ve had so much peace coming into this weekend that I’ve actually been able to relax! Hallelujah! ha ha ha
Tonight is what I like to call “Ladies Night”. Bethel put on this ‘restaurant night’ at the Dining Commons where we were served a 4 course meal (compliments of Sudexo). I went with a group of some of my dearest girl friends. We got all dressed up and ate some interesting, yet satisfying food. My family will be proud to know that I ate Coconut Shrimp (I detest sea food and am REALLY picky)! All in all, tonight has been great, I’ve been having a relaxing night, yet getting hw done here and there.
God is good - All the time!
What do you think of when someone says the word, opera? You might think, boring, hard to understand, loud, or completely tiresome. Even though I love classical music, I must confess that these were some of my initial thoughts too. As a music major, I am required to attend mostly all of the concerts at Bethel (which I really don’t mind at all,) and the first one of the semester was Rob Rein’s Opera Irregulars.
In class on the Thursday before the performance, Dr. Rein gave us a little bit of the history behind the opera as well as a taste of what we would get to see the next night. Since he didn’t have a large cast to use, he had to find an opera for four characters with minimal props and a simple set. These circumstances are obviously pretty tough to work with, but of course he found something. This dedicated man took a traditional opera by Haydn and translated it from Italian into English, word-for-word. After hearing his account of the journey that this work went through, I was definitely excited to see the full performance.
I met Chelsea and her boyfriend in the lobby and then we went and found our seats. People were just starting to trickle in as we settled into our seats. Chelsea’s boyfriend coined the term Com-pera which means a comic opera, which suited this performance very well I think:) And we waited in our seats until the lights dimmed and Rob got up to start the show.
The first piece was an aria about make-up It was so funny to listen to the classical melody, while watching the singers hilarious facial expressions, and listening to the words that were so comical. Such a combination was quite entertaining. Then, the other actors joined them on-stage for the final “act” and the conundrum that they found themselves in was very comical. With a melodramatic flair they finished the performance and the applause was well deserved.
They did a marvelous job! The music was flawless, and their acting and facial expressions were priceless! The performers had obviously practiced a long time for this show. Honestly, I hadn’t known what to expect since I had never seen an opera before. But this had all of the classical elegance of traditional opera, with a very humorous and entertaining twist. At times it was funnier just watching the audience react and listening to their hysterical outbursts of laughter. This com-pera was definitely a success and I just want to wish the cast members a job well done. As a music lover and concert aficionado, I am so glad that Bethel has these performances, it just makes my whole week better
Hello world,
It’s been about three weeks since I’ve been back at Bethel College for my sophomore year. And honestly it feels like I never left. Coming back to Bethel has been kind of like coming home seeing all the familiar sights, faces of friends, and the distinct yet undistinguishable smell of Oakwood. I’m excited for what this year at Bethel holds! I mean seriously Sufficient Grounds always has hummus platters now!! What could be better? Being back has reminded me of all the good times and all the ridiculous things that took place last year. Here’s my top ten memories/things I missed the most this summer from freshman year.
1.) 2.F.O.B.S (Second Floor Oakwood Bible Study a.k.a. Second Floor Oakwood Boy Scouts)
2.) Bethel Soccer
3.) The Fellas
4.) Oakwood
5.) Chapel
6.) Late night runs to Wal-Mart
7.) Taste of Asia
8.) Song & Shower Parties
9.) Late Nights
10.) Futsal
One of the most beautiful little boys I’ve ever seen in my life, but he’s in denial that he likes me. lol
One of my “brothers” and little ”cousins”. We were at a really nice house with a pool and lots of trees and flowers, it was beautiful.
I must start out by telling you, that I do love things other than music. But, you probably won’t believe me Most of my blog entries will undoubtedly be about some concert, practice, or performance-just wait and see.
These past two weeks have been so full of new and exciting experiences, that I don’t even know where to begin. But I can tell you that I love Bethel College. Actually, to make it easier, I will make a top ten list of why I really love this place.
#10 At Bethel, there are so many different ways to get involved. I mean, sure I’m a music major but I could be part of the student council or play dodge-ball if I wanted to.
#9 Whenever I’m on campus, I feel safe and protected. Campus safety is always nearby if I need them.
#8 The location is perfect: close enough to my home (I’m a commuter) and conveniently located near several major shopping centers (my other hobby)
#7 The campus is beautiful. It is so nice to sit by the pond and study, or just take a nap in the sun.
I was studying Psychology on this beautiful day.
#6 Whenever I have a problem with something, whether it be financial, academic, physical, or emotional:) there is always someone at Bethel that I could go to for help. It’s like you have your own “support group.”
#5 My professors are amazing! All of my pre-conceived notions of college professors have turned out to be completely wrong. Instead of just giving us assignments without any notice, they will tell us how to prepare and encourage us to ask questions when we don’t understand.
#4 Everyone is so friendly and helpful, and I do mean the students also. I have said this before, but basically eveyone at least smiles at you or says hi-how much better could it get?
#3 Did I mention how nice everyone is?…
#2 You can feel the Christ-like atmosphere throughout the campus, it’s Christ at the Helm.
#1 Finally, the one you’ve been waiting for…the Music Department, I already feel at home there. Not only is the music faculty amazing, but my classmates are awesome as well. Needless to say, I am very excited to to explore my passion even more in the next four years. I love music!!!
So there you have it, the official “Why I love Bethel” top ten list. I hope that this conveys to you a little about my life right now. I will write soon about the things that I have been doing as a freshman music major
Sarah and I taking a break from the rigors of study.
“God can turn your night into a new day.”
Tonight was the first time we’ve had the Fellowship together this semester. The Fellowship is a Bible study for guys, and we meet in the prayer chapel every Sunday night at eight. It’s open to anyone, so come on out if you want. Although things were a little bit last minute and unorganized because of some different circumstances, our time together was great!
It all started with our group prayer time. In the small group I was in, we were all in unison. We all had the same things on our hearts. All of us were looking forward to spiritual emphasis week and I think our prayers to be drawn closer to Him were answered in part tonight… There haven’t been many times in my life where I have heard someone speak from such a personal experience in their life than when Ben spoke tonight. Ben talked to us about how God’s love had just become real in his life. It was raw. It was to the point. What really hit home for me was the simple beauty of Christ’s love. God loves us no matter what. Why is this so hard for us to understand? Is it because we don’t really experience this physically in our everyday lives? I’ve heard it said, and I agree, that love is a stronger motivational factor than fear. So when Ben challenged us to think about God’s love before we go to sleep at night, it really hit home. What better way to end the day than to be reminded of the reason why we are living the life that we are? What better way to get ready for spiritual emphasis week than a night at the fellowship? I really can’t think of any better.
Before I dive into my first few weeks of school I figure it may be nice to have some summer background. So I’ll endulge you a bit on how God taught me this summer and how I’m bringing that to my job this year as an RA here at Shupe (freshmen girls dorm).
This summer I was a lifeguard at Northside Pool. After years of saying I would never lifeguard since that was the typical job for me after swimming every year on a team since I was 5 years old, I caved in. Jobs were scarce, but God stacked the odds in my favor and out of many applications I was given the job. Little did I know how much God was going to teach me.
I ended up loving my job and the people I worked with. Sure, it was hard work (Ellis training is no walk in the park) and the stress of making sure the people in your zone don’t drown can be daunting day in and day out, but God was there in all of the little things.
He was in every laugh I shared with my coworkers.
He was in every whistle blast - the emergency ones AND the minor ones.
He was in every stroke I took as I swam toward the person who was straining to breathe.
The most special thing to me was when He gave me butterflies. I’m not talking about that feeling you get when you’re with that special someone. I’m talking about real butterflies. They would flit past my guard stand every now and then as His reminder that He is in control. Even here at Bethel I see them. He still reminds me. I don’t know what it’s going to be once the seasons change, but I know it’s going to be great and I don’t want to miss it. Seeing My Lover in the small things is what I live for everyday. Whether it be in hugs from loved ones, those warm smiles exchanged on the way to class or even that cheery hello shouted across the Dining Commons.
How does this affect my being an RA you ask? It does in the way that I learned not only how to see God in these things, but to truely trust Him when I feel overwhelmed (I’m still learning this but am doing better). I learned to schedule my time wisely - making time for God, family, friends, and a boyfriend. I learned to love people and never stop - even when they hurt you. I learned to let others come along side me and build me up when I feel weak.
God is my identity and I want these young women that I live with to see that and want that for themselves. 
These are some of the people I worked with this Summer (I’m in the upper Lhand corner)
I can’t wait to go back next year and see how God’s worked in their lives!
The tough volleyball girls toughing out the rainy soccer game!
Hey everyone! I am sitting down in my dorm room (finally!) after a long weekend in the gym for a volleyball tournament at IWU. On Friday we lost our first match in 3 and won our second match in 5. This morning we lost our first match in 4 and lost our second match in 5. Our first game this morning, against UMD, should have been a win- but we just couldn’t wake ourselves up. We pulled it together, however, for our second match today against Northwestern Ohio. We played our hearts out and fought to the finish. The final score of the last game was 17-15, so close! Coach was proud of us for pushing through and giving everything we had. After the game, we stopped at a teammate’s house for an AWESOME meal- always a great end to a weekend of hard playing in the gym!
Well, it is time to relax! There is a Bethel soccer game tonight- GO PILOTS!!!, and of course an Ohio State game- GO BUCKS!!! I am so excited to keep everyone updated on volleyball, classes, student teaching, and Bethel life this semester! Tune in for more soon!
So as many of you all may know, I am studying abroad in the Dominican Republic this semester. So far it has been amazing! It’s pretty hot during the day, but I get chilly at night, which is nice. We got here on Sunday night, so it has been about two days that we have been here. So let me tell you about some of the highlights so far and skip all the boring stuff, though I haven’t really been bored since I’ve been here, except for during orientations and stuff where we have to sit there and listen when I’m hot and tired. lol.
Some of us walked to Hato Viejo up towards the top of the mountain with our new found tour guide who we kind of just met and pulled off the street. lol. We got to look over Jarbacoa. It was beautiful, but tiring!
Eating some good food
We had smores around a camp fire and had fun singing songs and worshipping.
So this is my first blog entry, and I have come to realize how difficult and long of a process it is to upload pictures! I think it is because of the internet connection here. I’ll try to put as many pictures up as I can though, no worries.
Hi, for those of you who do not know me, let me take a minute to introduce myself. My name is Ali and I am a senior at Bethel College this year. I transferred in credits, so it is only my third year there. I am a Spanish major and have chosen to study abroad in the Dominican Republic this semester. Tonight is my first night here. We left Bethel around 6:30 this morning and got to Jarabacoa around 9:15 p.m. It was a long day of travel, but definitely worth it. I met the rest of my group this past week in orientation and we have already started getting to know each other and bonding. We have a great group in the DR this fall and I am excited to see what the Lord has in store for us this semester. Being in a new culture brings so many different challenges, but it really makes me aware of the world around us. I am going to meet my host family soon, which I am really excited about. I will be living with them for the semester. I know that the Lord is going to push me this semester, but every step of it will be worth it. The Lord is definitely going to be working here in the Dominican Republic.
Wow, first blog entry. I’m so excited to be blogging this year so you can get a taste for Bethel College. I feel like I am in my element here; like I was made to be here. The Lord is so good to me to have brought me to Bethel (and I’m not just saying that!). The one thing I wanted to specifically start blogging on was about the spiritual atmosphere here on campus. It is so encouraging to me to see many different students and faculty seeking after the Lord. I’ve seen groups of students just sitting and worshipping together and I’ve been a part of conversations that just encourage and build me up in my relationship with the Lord! Even though I’m only two weeks in, I see the Lord opening so many doors for me: in friendships, in things to be involved with on campus (more about that some other time!), and on. I have been able to meet some really great people. Block 3 is pretty much the best block out there and Shupe 2nd floor is the place to be!
A few highlights over this past week have been just conversations with friends. Even though I know I have homework that needs to be done, relationships just take priority sometimes. Ending up talking till 1:30 a.m. or setting down homework to pray with a friend are the moments to remember. I can’t wait to see what the Lord has in store this year and the next four years. I feel as if I’m on a roller coaster and it’s a good one!
- At the soccer game!
