On Saturday, I slept in pretty late. I woke up and then almost
immediately found out that April and I might be needed to lead worship for a
small group at the house that evening. We practiced almost all day until
everyone came over around 6. It went pretty well and I think the two of us felt
pretty confident after it happened. The small group went really well and then
the large group of us ate at a Chinese restaurant afterward. It was a good meal
with great people. We trekked back up the hill to the apartment afterward for
some sleep.
Sunday was a busy day. The first item on the agenda was to
head down the hill to meet a large group of faculty and their families to go
swim/eat/hike at a beach called Red Rock. We got arrived after a 45-minute bus
ride (this is becoming quite the norm) and immediately started the hike up to
the rocks. The hike wasn’t too terrible, and it was definitely worth it. As
soon as I came out of the small jungle, I saw an immense sea all around me. I
stood out on the edge of one of the rocks and was momentarily overwhelmed by
the beauty all around me. I saw waves, rocks, the beach, clouds, and tons of
greens. There are not words for how I felt when I was standing there admiring
all the goodness of natural beauty. If I could, I would take a journey all
across the island on foot and camp on the rocks and beaches to wake up to the
sunrise across the water. I could spend hours; days just watching the water
interact with the rest of nature. It’s completely mesmerizing to me. But since
we had other things planned for the day, I wasn’t able to spend the rest of the
day there. So we hiked back to the beach area to eat and swim before the bus
took us back home. I had just enough time for a quick shower, then made the
hike back down the hill for a worship night with the church. I was interrupted
by the security guard at the front gate. Apparently, they take security really
seriously here. Well, kind of. I don’t have an ID because I don’t go to school
here. So, they aren’t supposed to let me in without an ID. I explained to them
that I am visiting the University and I’m only there for a worship night with
the church. My explanation wasn’t satisfactory so I had to trade my Missouri
driver’s license for a visitor badge for the University. Annoying. They didn’t
even ask me any other questions or have any idea what kind of a person I am. My
Missouri drivers license really couldn’t have meant that much to them. Oh well,
I had a visitor badge and that’s what they really cared about. I was told that
I would need a “real” visitors badge from the administration office. So I
penciled that into my notebook for future plans. Once I got to the worship
night, I really enjoyed the time spent there with the students. It was really a
joyful time and just about everyone had it on his or her face.
So today we woke up to go get my real visitors ID badge. All
I had to do was give them my Missouri ID again, they wrote down my name, and
gave me a piece of paper to show to the security guards at the front gate each
time I entered. Wohoo. Mission accomplished. We spent the rest of the day at
the pool. If you know me, you’ll know that made me incredibly happy. Tonight,
we finally don’t have a bible study or small group or an outing to go to. We
will probably watch Back to the Future 3 (we’ve already watched the other two
this week) and rest up for a busy day tomorrow. I’m definitely enjoying my time
here. The simplicity and natural beauty really breathes life into my soul. It’s
a time of relaxation that I seem to have needed.
No comments:
Post a Comment