Weekly Update #2: Fun, Friends, and Fire Alarms!?

Exciting news: I have officially survived an entire week of college! Woohoo! So many things have been happening, I feel like literally feel like I've been here a year already.

Amidst the past week, I have been having so much fun, but possibly not the type of fun you are all thinking. I'm having fun learning! For all of my high school teachers reading this, you were right--learning is fun! I have been so deeply enjoying my classes this week. It has been the greatest joy of mine to not only sit under some of the legendary professors here at Boyce, but also read all of the books they assign and soak up the knowledge accordingly. I am having the time of my life learning the very things I have been desiring to learn for the past four years since God first called me to ministry--and it's amazing!

Also in the past week I have had the amazing opportunity to make new friends. I have been bonding with my suitemates, hallmates, my o-team members ("orientation-teams" that they set you up with so you can meet friends quickly), random people on campus, and even some of my professors and staff. Nevertheless, it is still a patient process to make new friends. I have so many great friends at home, and I don't have that yet here. In the end, although it's been super amazing to build new friends in the past week, I'm still praying that God may continue this process as I'm being patient for his plan on my life.

Lastly, FIRE ALARMS?! What?! So, it turns out that someone pulled the fire alarm at 12:30am Sunday morning (it wasn't a drill--someone actually pulled it), which caused the entire Boyce College housing complex of over 1,000 undergrad students to evacuate the building in their pajamas. Yup. It was certainly an interesting experience. Now it's funny...Sunday night...it was NOT.

Amidst it all, though I am having the time of my life, I have to admit that I am still very homesick. I miss Walworth County so much, and Calvary Community Church most of all. Thank you all for the prayers, texts, phone calls, and (most important of all) random dad jokes (@BradBoyle). Please do not hesitate to reach out to me. I may not reply right away, but I will eventually. All of your encouragements (in whatever form they come in) are extremely helpful!

Here's a brief snapshot of what I've had un learning in my classes, for those of you who are interested...

1. In History of the Bible, I am learning what the Bible is. It may seem obvious, but it is harder to define that you might think. How do you define what the Bible is? What does it contain? Why are their some books in it and not others? What makes it different than other books in the world?

2. In Greek I, I am learning the Koine Greek alphabet, which will (eventually) help me to better interpret the New Testament.

3. In Ethics, I am learning how the created order places a standard for morality. When God said "it is good" in Genesis 1, he meant it. In order to determine what is moral, we ought to look back to Genesis 1 to determine how God meant it to be.

4. In English, I am learning a bunch of gramatical rules that I already know... (shoutout to FCS's amazing English @MissKnudtson @MrsGregornik)

5. In Christian Education, I am learning AMAZING THINGS. This class has been the most eye-opening of them all so far. In one of the books we are reading for this class, the author says that "what you thinking learning is hinges on what you think human beings are." This quote has entirely changed my mindset on how I view discipleship and teaching. In order to truly effect peoples' lives, we must see them as creatures made in the image of God who are created to worship. The book is called You Are What You Love by James A. Smith. I highly recommend it.

Prayer Requests:

• Patience. God has me in a new season of life, and it is difficult to be patient as I long for new friends and new outlets for my passions.

• New and Deeper Friendships.

• "Starfish." I have learned that one of the hardest things about changing locations is that it takes time to find people you can pour into and share the Gospel with. For those of you at Calvary know that Pastor Chuck always talks to us about that one person who can be the one "starfish" in our lives--that one person (or a few people) amidst all of them that we can make an impact on. So far I have not found one yet, please be praying that I may.

• Wisdom in time-managent and openness to divine appointments. It is easy in college to stay in your dorm and do your homework all day. Pray that God may give me the wisdom to study when I need to study, socialize when I need to socialize, and be open to "interruptions" (Mark 5:21-43, thanks Pastor Gabe :)).

• Anxiety of Homesickness. Be praying that I may be "humbling myself under the mighty hand of God...casting all of my anxieties on him because he cares for me" (1 Peter 5:6-7, Matthew Quick First-Person Version) in the area of my homesickness.

• Living in the Moment. I wish to not be distracted by my anxieties, but simply take each moment for what it is, and enjoy every second of this great time in my life--or (in the words of Pastor Yorgey) "focus on each moment and not get overwhelmed by the whole.

May peace be with you all.