Dorm Retreat - part 1

   Last weekend was Dorm Retreat.  Almost all the young women and men from NVW(Noordewier-Vanderwerp) drove to Camp Roger on Saturday afternoon.  I drove up with my roommate Stephanie, my friend Sarah, and my friend Catherine.  After arriving around 2:30, we went up the hill to our cabin and put our bags in our cabin and then went down to check in.  We had some free time until about 5:00, so we went down to the lake to have some fun!

We went out on that little walkway you can see in the back of the middle picture and looked at the jellyfish in the lake.  (Yes, there really are jellyfish in the lake.)  Then we did what everyone else was doing - canoeing!

   I think it was actually more fun, however, to watch other people trying to use the canoes.  Some people don't know how....  :P

   After that, we went trekking around exploring.  There wasn't a lot to see - it's a pretty small camp - but it was still fun.  We found a little lean to!

 

Next installment will come later!





Words # 4

Sorry this is a day late!  This week's post* is about the stresses I've encountered in the past week.

Tests
Studying
Spanish
Health and Safety Checks (okay, I know, that's 4 words...)
Rearranging
and more Studying...

*(part of the purpose of these posts is as "conversation starters", i.e. things you guys can ask me about if you want...)

Recap of the week(end)

   It's been a good week.  And now it's Friday...!
   Classes went well this week.  Lots of good discussion, learning, calculating, and laughing!  I didn't have too much writing to work on, and homework went well.  The week included dorm worship, floor bible study, a Sherlock night, the first and second serenades, and all kinds of other great stories.  Like the one about tripping over a sign....but that's a story for another time!
   This weekend is dorm retreat, and I'm singing for dorm retreat worship on Sunday morning.  Rehearsal for that was tonight in the basement, and I enjoyed it so much!  I guess I didn't realize how much I missed leading worship and singing and rehearsing with other people! 
   After rehearsal, I came back up to my room and did (well, sort of) some homework.  I had this intense craving for candy, however, and so I decided to go to Johnny's and get some.  I didn't want to go all by my lonesome self, though, so I went down the hall and found a friend to go with me.  Those are the kinds of friends you need - the ones who will spontaneously go get candy with you, because you don't want to walk in the dark alone.  :)
   We had plans with our suitemates tonight, but they fell through, so we decided to watch The Princess Bride instead.  What better way to spend your Friday night? :D
   Looking forward to the weekend and all it will hold!

Words #3

About weekends...

Sherlock
Movies
Homework
Free Time
Friends
Late Nights
Laughter!

Looking back: This Week's Highlights and Suprises

Week 2, down!  Just a few more to go.... :P  Here are some of the high points of the week:

1. Eating breakfast with a couple of the guys from my English 101 class!  I made a spur of the moment decision to eat in the dining hall on Wednesday and enjoyed a somewhat tasty breakfast with two people from my writing class.  It was fun to talk with people about writing who actually enjoy writing!  Plus Josh entertained us with some impressive card tricks...
2. Floor date on Friday night!  First Werp* asked First Noordy** down into the solarium for an "enchanted evening".  It was quite fun.  They served us "drinks" (like Shirley Temple's and the like), and even dressed up for us!  We talked and played catchphrase and got to know our brother floor a little bit better!
3. Laughing with friends!  As the week goes on and I get more tired, everything gets funnier...
4. Getting called "very beautiful" in Spanish by an Asian!  It doesn't happen every day, you know...
5. Saturday Shopping trip and Monster's U with Stephanie and Sarah!

I can't even remember everything else!  I guess it's a little late!  Good night all - have a blessed week!

*First Werp: the first floor of Vanderwerp, the guys side.
**First Noordy: the first floor of Noordewier, the girls side.

Words #2

This "Words" post is on mealtimes.

Laughter
Magic Tricks
Good Talks
Gluten-free
Hudsonville ice cream
Trays
Silverware
Friends
Strangers
Hot Sauce...

Never Forget

   I still remember it.  I remember that morning, waking up to my mom sitting on the edge of my bed, very upset.  I was so young, only 6, and I'm sure my memories are not accurate.  But I do remember her telling me "Something awful has happened today."  I didn't understand.  I though something bad had happened in history on that day.
   I remember coming downstairs and watching two tall buildings in flames,  watching as planes crashed into each.  I don't remember exactly how I felt.  I'm sure I was confused, and sad.  It was a terrible day.
   In a way,  I'm glad I was alive for 9/11.  If I had not been, I could never fully appreciate the horror of what took place. 
   To all those mourning for lost loved ones today, and to all those who grieve for the loss of this country 12 years ago - we will never forget.  Be comforted by God today, and know that America is grieving with you.  May God bless this country, and may this country bless God!

Words #1

Okay, so on Fridays I'm going to try to do a weekly "Words" post.  This week is words that come to mind as I cross campus on the way to class.

Frisbee
Far
Sunny
Beautiful
People
Walking
Studying
Laughing....

Orientation adventures

   Today is Labor day and I'm so glad we have nothing we have to do!  Quest orientation was amazing, but really busy.
   Quest lasts 3 days and addresses the 3 facets of Calvin's mission statement.  The first day was focused on service-learning.  Our Quest group of about 20 people went out into the city to partner with the Roosevelt Park Neighborhood Association.  We split up and one group went to help an elderly woman clean up the end of her street.  They picked up tons of trash and cleared out a tangle of brush.  The other group, which included me, went to a small park nearby and picked up trash there.  There was an amazing amount of broken glass along with lots of other trash.  It really made me so grateful that I can go to a local park at home and run around barefoot and not worry at all about what I'm stepping on.  It was a great experience and it really built community among us.  We spent the evening at Reed's lake talking, playing Mafia, and Ghost in the Graveyard.

   The next day was based around our faith.  I really enjoyed the faith dialogues among our group.  It was really neat and very encouraging to hear other people's testimonies of God's faithfulness in their lives.  Then that afternoon we did "The Great Ball Challenge", which was a photo scavenger hunt with a giant beach ball.  It was super fun!
   Friday was a challenging day.  We attended seminars and skits on very difficult topics ranging from racism, purity, self-image, dating, etc., and then discussed them.  We had some intense, deep, and wonderful discussions which probably could have gone on all day.  It was challenging yet encouraging to be very open with one another.  I was super blessed by all these conversations, and hope to have more of these.
   Friday night we had a final session with just our Quest group where we did paper plate awards while listening to Disney music.  :D  I found out several people know all of the words to "I See the Light" from Tangled, like I do! 
   Then we took sticky notes and wrote our fears for the year on them and put them in little cups with a candle on top.  We wrote our hopes and prayers on a paper lantern and took both lantern and candle cups down to the Seminary Pond where everyone else from the incoming class was gathered.  After singing "Amazing Grace" we set our candles sailing into the pond in a symbolic release of our fears to God.  Then we lit the lantern and sent it into the sky with the others and gave up our hopes and prayers to God! It was so beautiful! 

   Our group stayed for a while and prayed and sang together.  It was a sweet time of fellowship and I can't wait to spend more time with these people!

(These are the lanterns!)
(My friend Jessica took all the lights pictures)

Words

Words to describe college:
new
different
exciting
scary
awesome
fun
terrifying
hard
odd
awkward
beautiful
blessing
crazy....

....and so much more!