Thoughts of a Senior

So I don't claim to be very wise, in fact I know many ways where I am quite foolish.  God has, however, taught me a few things these last four years about being a young Christian and about getting through college.  I just figured I would share them.  I'm not very good at all of them, mind you, but they have proven helpful for me. So here goes:

-          Make wise investments (college is an investment)

o   Choose the things that will last:  There are many things demanding our time and attention,  they are not all worth it.

o   Learn the difference between friends and friendships:  friends are a noun, friendship is a verb.  Choose to invest in friendships that last.  Friends are great, but know which to choose first.

o   Not everything is worth investing :  What will the return on investment be?  Is it going to grow and become more valuable? will it lose it's value?  Will it not make a return?  Would your investment be better served elsewhere?

-          Live with an open heart

o   Use your talents in love

o   Don't be sealed off to those around.

o   You can't find real joy by looking inward.

-          Seek to learn before trying to teach

o   Be teachable and moldable

o   Know where to go for wisdom

§  Don’t rely on yourself to answer the questions you don’t know

 (PROV 12:15) The way of a fool is right in his own eyes: but he that hearkeneth unto counsel is wise.

o   Don’t be too proud to ask for help

o   Prove all things, hold fast to that which is good (I Thess 5:21)

§  Some things will seem good, but won’t be

§  Some things won’t seem good, but will be

-          Spent alone time with God so much sin comes when we are bored with God.

o   Be fascinated by Him

o   Get to know Him

o   Be excited by Him

o   Seek His heart

o   Trust Him in all things

o   Allow that relationship to be enough

-          Sometimes the only thing you can do is keep stepping.

o   If you can't do anything else, just do that.

-          Life has begun, learn to enjoy where you are

o   It doesn’t get better than now

o   The past is yesterday's now, while the future is tomorrow's. when we look beyond now, we find it is a figment of our imagination, an interpretation of what now was, or speculation of what it will be.  The future cannot be better than now, as it does not exist until now.  The past is simply an accumulation of the nows that brought us here.  While it brought us this far, it will take us no further, except to receive this now which will take us to the next. The only moment, and indeed the best one, is right now.  The past is built from it, and the future will become it, so be happy to receive it.

 

Clinging to Righteousness, Standing on Grace

A brief insight to my spiritual walk goes like this.  I try really hard, and I fall really hard.  That pretty much sums up every day of my walk with God.  Sometimes I do well and sometimes I go bottoms up. 

A picture came to my mind of a climbing rope hung very high.  I am at the bottom of this rope,  Righteousness is at the top.  Everyday I get on this rope, and climb.  Some days I climb way up, and other days I barely get off the floor.  Sometimes my hand slips and I fall all the way back down.  Sometimes it feels like all I can do is hold the rope.  No matter what I do, though, I never reach the top.

So how then, do I become righteous, if I cannot climb my way to the top?  I find myself at this point now.  I have climbed so far, and yet I find myself fallen yet again.  God has promised that He will be with me, and that He will help me if I trust Him, and follow Him.  So where does that leave me? If I cannot climb to God, how do I reach Him?

The only thing that comes to mind is that I am standing on grace.  When I lose my grip, all my strength is lost, and I find myself fallen, hurt, tired and sore; I look at where I have fallen and must believe that this floor is grace.  I've fallen into grace.  Perhaps I'm not standing on the bottom at all, perhaps it is actually the hand of God that has caught me.  I think that God wants me to climb this rope, but understand that when I fall, it isn't to the ground, It is into Him; Into the blood of Christ.  If it is any other way I will never make it.  I cannot climb this rope to the top.  That is why I must believe that my strength isn't keeping myself from falling, but that it is the grace of God.  When I am on the rope, I tend to forget this, that somehow I am doing the work.  It's not until my strength gives out that I realize how feeble I am without grace to keep me up.

Thank you Lord for Grace

Running wide open

Life right now is indeed an adventure.  Sometimes I will be trudging through the mundane, and other times I find myself sprinting just to keep up with traffic. Poor example maybe, but let me explain.  Just last week I was in a spot, forcing myself to study, feeling pretty typical of what college life tends to be.  Yesterday, however, was nothing of the kind. 

As internships, career possibilities and life continues to unfold around me, huge changes in my life are happening incredibly fast.  Life up to this point has been very predictable.  I will be in school forever.  Graduation always felt like the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, you are running towards it, but it doesn't ever seem any closer. My plan of study, up until yesterday was this.  15 credits (5 classes) left.  Internship this summer, one more semester of school.  I was thinking of taking some classes online over the summer, then coming back to Purdue in the fall to finish up remaining credits, perhaps working part time.  Things were starting to wrap up, but I still had a fair amount of time before making real decisions.  I met with my adviser, and as she analyzed the classes I had taken in my previous major, she concluded that I could use those to cover two of the elective classes that I needed to take.  This leaves me with 9 credits left, and I can do all of them online.  So, instead of one more full semester of college,  I am done with Purdue at the end of this semester, which is quickly approaching.  I am moving out, and will not have to be on campus at all after the semester.  I will take an online class this summer, then two in the fall.  Where I won't technically graduate, I will be working full-time, or nearly full-time starting, in 2 months.  It is an incredibly surreal feeling that I'm sure every senior goes through.  I have been in school for 17 years,  graduating high school was cool because you could now buy subway for lunch and go outside between classes, but it was still school.  Now I will be set out in a new environment that I am in no way used to.

Have you ever had the experience, sightseeing or whatever, where you have to go through a tunnel or something that blocks your view right up to the end?  You are walking, all is normal, nothing extraordinary, but when you open the door and step out, the world opens up around you and seems too big to comprehend.  Yeah that's what happened. I realize that I am probably idealizing graduation just a tad, but to me, again, it's a whole new world.

Minnesota Bound!

That's right, I accepted an internship with Case New Holand in Benson Minnesota as an Industrial Engineer!  If you step through some of my recent blog posts you can see a bits of the journey that I was taken on through this, but I thought I would walk through the journey.

After much time applying for jobs, sending out resumes and emails to recruiters, two options came to the table.  One would be with CNH, which would put me in Benson, MN.  The other was Winamac Coil Spring in Winamac, IN.  The two opportunities were vastly different in scope and responsibility, as well as long term options.

With Case, the hope would be that I would do an internship, then if everything went well they would hire me on full-time upon graduation.  This option was really appealing, as I am graduating after one more semester.  Having an open door would be fantastic.  CNH is an enormous company that most have heard of, and the opportunity to be trained by professional IE's would be very helpful.  I could learn in a safe environment, and have great connections that would set me up for either a career with them, or experience valuable to other companies as well.

WCS on the other hand is a small spring company owned by the family some brothers from church.  They are looking to implement 'lean' (manufacturing philosophy minimizing waste/space/material etc.) into their plant.  They would be looking for someone with a background in lean manufacturing (which I kind-of have) to help them with the project.  I would be jumping with two feet into the fire, stretching myself to the limit and either sink or swim.  The thought of challenging myself on this level was very appealing, and I was sure I could do it.  Stressful, maybe. Rewarding, definitely.  Fantastic Resume builder, oh yeah.  At WCS I would be close to home, able to take classes at Purdue, and able to work with brothers. They did not, however, have any promise of work after the summer.  Maybe, but no guarantees.

I also considered the spiritual impact.  I feel like Minnesota would be more of a mission, as I would be called to represent Christ in a foreign land, live on my own and live Christ out without as many security features.  I would have the opportunity to interact with a new church and new social groups.  Winamac would be a very encouraging time, where I would be working closely with brothers that I really respect and have learned a lot from.

So with these options, I was able to sufficiently stress myself out. Both had different merits on many different levels and neither seemed better than the other. I went back and forth many times, but was leaning towards WCS as of Thursday (I had to decide on Monday).  I knew I should pray about it and wait, but I just wanted to make a decision and be done with it.  I decided to wait until Monday until making a decision.  I called the brother I knew from Winamac, and we discussed for a long time the different opportunities.  He was amazing in helping me sort through a lot of thoughts and factors invoved.  Towards the end of our conversation he made the comment:  'Well it seems that you have thought through both options, and they are both great opportunities, now you just need to look to God to see what He is telling you to do.'  Indeed.  I was praying a lot through this whole thing, which I think is why I didn't have a peace about my decision yet. 

As we talked on the phone, the idea of Case became stronger.  Up to this point I had hardly considered it seriously, only looking at the pros and cons of WCS.  It was then that my mind settled on interning with Case for the summer, and then pursuing part time next semester with WCS if they would still have me.  Upon this, the battle settled.  I didn't feel a huge shove in any direction, I just simply stopped wondering as much. 

The weekend passed, and I prayed that God would change my mind if He would have me do something else, but He never did.  I tried to find Case New Holand, or Springs, or something in the Bible, but couldn't.  No huge billboard saying "Stu, go here".  So I just relied on that small peace.  I did however read about making decisions out of wisdom, and trusting in God.  Encouraging, but not necessarily helpful. There were a few little things that happened.  Again not stunning, but I believe gentle nudges.  While I was on the phone with WCS, I began to see black and red everywhere (CNH's colors).  My binders, my pens.  We took a trip to ISU bible study on Thursday, and there was a kid in a Case sweatshirt.  Later, I also saw another friend wearing a Case sweatshirt.  It seemed coincidental at the time, not monumental, but I think it was a nudge.

The road to Case was also interesting, full of coincidences that combined to present the opportunity.  God seemed to be working through that, so it couldn't be ignored. (I wrote more on the story in my last post).  I just happened to go to Krannert's career fair (which I wasn't invited to). Just happened to have my resume critiqued by CNH.  Happened to run into the recruiter at a social that I barely decided to go to...  A lot of coincidence.
 
I finally called WCS with my final decision. I wanted to talk to that brother first and get his thoughts. I would go to CNH for the summer and learn from some pros, then hopefully work part-time next semester at WCS, and we would consider full-time in the future.  I told the brother, and his first words were: "You know Stu, I think you have made a wise decision."  Now that was a very encouraging confirmation.  Also big on his part to point me in a direction that would benefit me, not them as much.  I then contacted CNH and accepted the position.  When I got off the phone, I felt a peace roll over me, and a big smile cover my face.  Praise God for leading me.  I don't know where this road will take me exactly, but God does.

This process was interesting.  This is perhaps the largest decision I have made so far.  Where it is "only an internship"  As a Senior graduating in December, it will have a very large impact on my career.  As far as interviews were going, I actually ended up turning down a couple of interviews.  One of which was with Cessna Aircraft.  After I hung up the phone with them I had a panic attack "What did I just do!!!"  As I prayed later and reviewed the job description again, I felt a peace about letting it go, though.  Cessna has been kind of a dream job for me.  I took some flying lessons a while back, so the prospect of building those planes is amazing, but right now I didn't feel led that way.  Plus I couldn't consider another option or my head would explode, and I would have to turn down the Case offer before I would have the chance to interview with Cessna because of poor timing.  Not a risk I really wanted to try.  Anyway so now God has again opened up doors.  It is so amazing that just when we are nearing the end of our rope, God presents another just in time.

life rafting

I perceive the Christian experience like riding a raft down a river.  Sometimes the water is still and slow.  We can be discontent and wish more was going on, or we can soak up the sun and enjoy the view and set up for the next event.  Sometimes we encounter little bumps, push through shallow areas, avoid rocks.  Sometimes we get hung up on a rock, which is OK as long as we get off of it and learn how to avoid them.  Sometimes you come to a bend, and can only guess what is coming up next.  We get hungry and we get thirsty, but fortunately the raft is well stocked.  And occasionally we encounter a rapid, where all we can do is hang on and trust in our master guide.  If we try to get ahead of the current we will wear ourselves out, and become discouraged.  If we try to go slower than the current then we won't be prepared for what is coming, and it will feel like we are getting dragged along.  So we must stay with the current, and keep up with the will of God.

I hit some rapids this week for sure.  Not in a bad way at all, but the river is running very quickly and I'm clinging on to this raft.  It is an exhilarating ride for sure!  I cling to this raft trust that my guide knows how to navigate this river.  It is fun, actually.  If I didn't trust my guide I would be afraid, and there still is definitely a quality of unknown danger, but that is part of the thrill.   

OK so what is this big rapid you are talking about? Fair enough.  In the past week I have gotten two job offers, and along with those comes the obvious question of which one to chose and for what reasons.  Also, there comes the question of living arrangements, and alas, my vehicle is not great for traveling.  I have always known that this year would come with some extreme changes, and now I am getting to a place of making some directly life changing decisions.  I trust my guide to show me the way, and that together we will make it through,  I just have to remember to enjoy the ride! 

Suits, Ties, Clocks, Snow, Waiting, Training

So wow these last two weeks have been nuts and exciting.  Last Tuesday night I got an email about Krannert management's career fair on Thursday with resume critiques and a social on Wednesday.  I'm not in management, but I decided to attend anyway.  I figured that my technology major could help me stand out a bit from the mainstream and bring a different skillset to the table.  This decision completely changed the mundane attitude of studying, to frenzied preparation.  I had some work to do to update my resume, and companies to research.   I only found two or three companies that really held my attention, so I decided to spend most of my time and effort on these.  I armed my resume, and headed to the resume critique.

At the resume critique, recruiters from hiring companies actually come in to look over the resumes and it provides an initial, informal opportunity to chat with them.  It turns out that a rep from one of the companies (Case New Holland) was there critiquing resumes, so I patiently waited for his table to come available. As he looked over my resume and made suggestions, we chatted for a bit over some of the content.  As we talked about what my interests were and what I was looking for, he suggested that I should stop by at the career fair.  That evening was an informal social, where snacks were served and we were able to walk around and meet the recruiters.  I enjoyed this and ended up talking to several recruiters for positions of which I had no qualifications for, nor interest in, we just simply chatted.  This was mostly due to the fact that it was hard to identify what company people were with because the only indicator was on a small print name tag, so I wandered into several random conversations.  I made contact with the CNH recruiter again and he made sure that I was going to bring my resume to them later.  There was another company that I wanted to talk to, but either they weren't at the social, or I wasn't able to find them.

The next day was the career fair. I had a short list of companies I wanted to talk to, with only two really in mind.  CNH and Praxis as it were. I quickly found Praxis and chatted with the recruiter, gave my resume and then found Trevor, the CNH recruiter.  He was happy to see me and we scheduled an interview for Friday.  So long story short, we held the interview, and things went really well and he told me he would send my resume on to the next channel.  As for Praxis, I sent a follow up email and am waiting for a response.

So now this week has been just as crazy.  Tuesday was the Engineering career fair, which is enormous.  I again started pinpointing some companies that I may be interested in, including a company called Greenlee Textron.  Greenlee was holding an info session on Monday, which I attended and met the recruiters.  Meeting people beforehand makes conversation at the career fair so much nicer and builds a much better connection.  I am not a big group person anyway, so I enjoy being able to talk on a smaller setting, then meeting formally to present my resume at the career fair.  Tuesday was the career fair, where again I went through the process of talking to people, and submitting resumes and online applications.  I ran into Trevor, the CNH recruiter, again. We chatted and he told me that he had sent on my information.  So I am expecting to hear from them for a second interview soon.  I also got an interview with Greenlee, which ended up being an interesting story that I will get to.  On a different note, I also talked to a brother from church who works for a small manufacturing company and he sounded like they might be able to use an industrial engineer there.  There are a few companies that I submitted resumes to who I am expecting to hear from within the next few weeks as well.


So for the Greenlee story.  In  case you didn't know, we got a winter storm that rolled in yesterday (Wednesday).  I had an interview scheduled for yesterday morning, but the storm shut Purduedown, thus no interviews, so we had to reschedule.  We set the morning right after my first class today.  On my way to class, I realized that I was off on my days and was headed to my Friday class.  The class that I was actually scheduled for was a 2 hour lab, which meant that I would need to leave early to make my interview. Not a huge deal, but slightly unexpected.  After class is where things began to get interesting.  So it turns out, I found out later, that the password for the email system I use to keep all my accounts together expired, which halted all incoming emails.  What is worse is that the recruiter for Textron had emailed me the new meeting location, which I didn't receive.  I thought that he had forgotten, and gave him a call.  We got in touch and he confirmed that the room was 240.  240, Got it.  I assumed that it was in the same building we were scheduled in before...... bad assumption.  I was ready, I left lab, got there early and every room on the floor was dark.  It was about 10:15, interview at 10:30.  Plus in this building there was no room 240, and if there was it was hidden and not typical of an interview room.  Maybe I misheard, so I headed to the third floor where my interview with CNH was.  No luck.  I headed to the Union, again no luck.  I asked several people who looked at me funny and had no idea.  10:26, I call the recruiter again, no answer.  Maybe they were at the career center, definitely a possibility, but it was a few minutes away and didn't want to walk over there if they were at the Stewart Center.  10:33, I call again.  He answered, "Hi, I must have misunderstood, did you say that you were in room 240 at the Stewart Center?"  "No we are on the second floor of the career center."  Great.  "Got it!  I am on my way!"  oh brother, not good...  so I proceed to rush there, bounded up the stairs, plopped my things in a waiting area, grabbed my little leather folder, smoothed out my suit, put on a smile and entered. Not sure what time it was, but it was somewhere around LATE.  Probably 10:40.  We proceeded to have a good chat, I think, but 10 minutes late is kind of a big deal, no matter what the reason.

So now we wait.  I am actually very peaceful at the moment.  I have done my best.  I just got back from a resume critique, and she was not able to make suggestions.  Applications have been sent, interviews attended.  I have done the best I know how.  So now I let God guide.  He has the habit of putting us where He wants us, and I trust Him.  If I get multiple job offers, I trust He will guide my decision.  If I only get one, I trust that it will be the right one.  If I don't get any, He will open a door.  God has qualified me for the position that He wants me to be in.  My resume represents, not my own accomplishments, but rather the journey He has brought me on.  I have been able to walk into my interviews confident, not because I of myself am something, but because I know that if this is where God wants me then I am perfectly qualified.  If I am not supposed to go that way, then what is there to worry about?  I look at the story of Joseph.  God led him definitively.  Not necessarily clearly, I'm sure that he had his share of wondering what God had in mind, but when it was done, the path was obvious.  The same happened for Abraham, Noah, Isaac, Moses.  They were perfectly qualified by God for the position that He put them in, as am I.  "I will walk ahead bold and confident, taking every step in obedience."

God has done amazing things, and even writing this, I am amazed at the first few steps of the journey.  I know that in a few weeks I will be tested again when the other shoe on this drops.  Now I am simply excited to see what happens, real life decisions will be made within the next two months.  I am not afraid, simply aware, and I know that God will grant grace once I come to the next crossroads.

Here is a song that I love that I just quoted from.

This song gives me so much courage.  Looking back on parts of the journey, it is so obvious that God has used it to prepare me for each step.  In football we had conditioning during every practice. It was the worst part of every day.  Coach sometimes would have us sprint up hills, over and over. Perform running drills against each other, run up and down the field.  Whatever he told us to do, we were sure that it was going to be hard.  The thing is, when the game came, we were prepared.  Our bodies would react almost instinctively to plays.  Maneuvers which were difficult at the beginning of the season, were now as simple as turning.  Now, I can see the conditioning practice God has put me through.  Every struggle now has made me stronger.  I am being conditioned to battle sin and to trust God.  Areas where Satan had a firm grip on me are now starting to melt away by the grace of God.  When I prayed "God, give me strength" He did, but he has done so by training me to be strong.  When you pay a trainer to make you strong physically, he doesn't give you muscles, he teaches you how to build them.  Sometimes we need spotted.  Sometimes, we get to a point where we are physically not able to continue the exercise.  This method is called "reps till fail."  Often this is the best workout.  Once you can't lift anymore, your spotter helps you lift the weight.  If we are following God's direction, and trusting in everything that He tells us to do, I believe He will train us, and sometimes bring us to the point of fail, and we have to rely on Him.  I'm pretty sure this is what Paul means when he says to work out our soul's salvation with fear and trembling; trembling muscles and fear of injury. (maybe not, but it seems to fit the bill!)

Don't misunderstand, we can never say that we can train on our own, and get strong by ourselves. God still grants the increase. But if we think this means not having to work, it is like only listening to the trainer and expecting to get fit.  If we try to do it all on our own, without relying on His strength, then we will be crushed in an instant and our labor is in vain.

Shooting on Campus

So today around noon I got a text from Purdue's texting service that a shooting had been reported on campus in the EE building and to avoid the area.  We get bulletins like this fairly frequently if there is a robbery or if there is something else happens.  Typically they don't mean much to me and I ignore them, so when I read it, my initial response was just to ignore it.  In the next few hours, though, the reality of what had happened started to sink in.  Apart from the text and an e-mail stating the same thing, I didn't have any other information.  I was at the apartment and just stayed there.  I had a class at 1:30 which is about when they sent another e-mail stating that campus was safe again, so with a few reservations I headed to my 1:30 class.  The only conversation that I heard on my walk was about what happened and speculation of what was really going on.  I was slightly apprehensive as my classroom was right next to EE and I walked right by officers to get to my class. There were a few helicopters circling which gave a very eerie feeling to the campus. Needless to say it was hard for anyone to really concentrate in my next two labs.  We carried on pretty much business as usual, though.  It wasn't until I started to read the news reports that I started to feel that this was way out of place.  It isn't everyday you can go to CNN and find your university on breaking news. 

From the information I have gotten so far: there was one shooter who targeted a TA.  He walked into the laboratory, shot the TA and then walked out and gave himself up to the police.  There were rumors of multiple suspects and multiple casualties but those seemed to just be rumors. 

As of now, they have cancelled classes for the rest of today and for tomorrow (after the ones I went to of course).  It was initially exciting that we got classes off, but again it is weird because of the reasoning for it. Anyway so yeah it has been a strange day.

Picking up the Hammer

back again at the ol' desk at Purdue.  Such mixed feelings as I sit here, anticipating the upcoming semester.  Part of me is ready to get going again, the other is dreading the library.  This always seems to be the delima.  A month at home was plenty enough time, and perhaps slightly long, although I will never say that directly. A strange phenomenon happens when I go home: I check out.  No responsibilities, no worries, no discipline... in a word I get really lazy.  So the past month I have been checked out and lazy, which is nice for a little while, but it is time for life to start happening again.  Again the other side is dreading another reading, assignment or lecture.  It is interesting the tole that finals week really does take on your mental state.  That last week zaps any reserve energy you had left, and getting back into the grind is not a happy thought.

So as I am preparing for the new semester, I know I need to continue to keep a balance of school, spiritual, social, physical and psychological.  It is easy to get buried in books and let your mind go to mush before the semester is over, especially in the spring as most of the semester is shrouded in dark and dreary winter days and spending much time not inside or behind a desk is difficult. I plan to utilize Purdue's amazing co-rec much in the upcoming days, and already am planning on getting out early tomorrow morning.  If weather stays fair, then I think I can bust the bike out a bit, at least for getting to the rec center. 

Anyway, each step is taken in faith.  God has taken me this far, and He will take me on through.  He is more than a semester and bigger than a university.  I again place my life in His capable hands and trust as I take yet another step into the unknown.

2014

On the day of our Lord January 5th two thousand and fourteen I find it appropriate to contemplate the upcoming year. Another blessed year has passed not without adventure, and yet as I look forward the next year seems more daunting and exciting than the last.  Where faith has always been important to my daily life, I believe this next year will put the very fiber of my faith to the test.  A few things that will come to pass in the next 365 days:

1. stepping into the work force.  No longer shielded by the university I will finally have to step out and put everything that I have learned in the past 23 years to good use.

2. New living arrangements.  I have made the decision to move out of my apartment of 4 years at Purdue upon completion of this spring semester. 

3. Internship.  A prelude to the first issue I would guess.  Perhaps these will work together.  God knows.

4. Social Circle.  As is inevitable with a college group which has become my circle in recent years, we graduate, as will I.  Year to year this group changes, and as I move away I believe that I will be partially removing myself from this group as well. 

God is faithful and always has been.  He will continue far past this year.  There is excitement and apprehension as these next steps will come and pass.  How thankful I am for a constant God in an ever changing world.  I am excited to see where this journey of faith will take me. 

Right now I am looking out the window into winter storm Ion.  The snow is coming down heavily and the wind is beginning to pick up.  Temperatures are expected to drop to -17 with windchill of -35 and of 5-8 or more inches.  This makes me thankful for a nice house to be sheltered from the weather outside. 

Tornado Dodging

So this story is a little bit belated, but I think it is still worth sharing.  So everyone I'm sure still remembers the storm system that contained the extremely destructive tornadoes that hit Washington.  Well on the same day, after church and a wedding reception in Latty Ohio we (Alyssa Knobloch and I) were heading to Bluffton from Latty after visiting the Klopfenstein family who was up on furlough.  I had been warned of the potential for really bad storms that day, and as we were leaving Latty church, I began getting texts from the Purdue weather service and Lafayette weather services of tornado warnings.  I also knew that tornadoes were very spotty and that we still had to get home.  So we decided to take the trip and be cautious as we drove.  The weather at church was fine, even pleasant as we began the journey.  Up ahead, we could see some dark clouds, although they did not appear to be anything out of the ordinary besides a storm system.  As we continued to drive, things started to become more ominous, although nothing was significantly out of place.  We could tell that the system up ahead could be serious.  It is at this point where praying seemed like a good idea.  So as Alyssa drove, I said a prayer for safety from the storm.  Then the power lines began to dance in great wavelengths between the poles.  It was a strangely surreal sight.  There was little wind, and the sky was not overly dark, but obviously there was something going along down the line.  We continued on and proceeded to approach the system.  I look to our right and see a flat wall of rain.  For some reason this fact did not merit a comment.  I just looked at it, slightly intrigued and I wondered how long it would be before it hit us.  Turns out not too long, and hit us it did.  The weather went from fairly calm to flat-line winds and torrential rain in a moment.  Branches were flying sideways at our car, and we could not see the road.  Alyssa hit the brakes and we came to a stop.  We had just passed a house.  I knew that vehicles are unsafe in a tornado, and I knew that there were tornadoes in this system. so I told Alyssa that we should back up and stop at the house.  We pull into the driveway and run up to the door and knock.  after a couple of knocks someone comes to the door.  Feeling slightly sheepish I ask if we can come in out of the storm.  After slight hesitation, they graciously invite us in.  There we introduce ourselves and meet the family.  They had just finished up their dinner and were tracking the storms on their television.  It turns out that we are directly in the middle of the tornado zone.  Then the television goes black, with just a banner that reads "Tornado Warning."  I was so glad to be inside.  As we talked with the family, and explained that we were visiting some friends who were back from Haiti, they expressed that they too were believers, and that they were looking for a new church.  We were in Ossian, just a few miles north of Bluffton, So I gave them the address of the church as well as the elders number.  The next few minutes consisted of them asking us questions about our beliefs and sort of  'testing' us out with pointed questions over topics such as infant baptism, submersion baptism, and various others.  I guess we passed, because they seemed content with the answers we gave, and seemed excited to talk to the elder.  By this point, the storm had passed, and we decided to be on our way.  we thanked them, and we all agreed that God had sent us there for a reason.  God protected us, as well as sent us to a home who was searching for a church.  I don't know if they ever contacted the elder there, or if they will attend the church there in Bluffton, but perhaps someday I will go to church there and meet them again. 

Another bites the dust!

My how time flies.  It's really amazing that this semester is over already.  I was not sure at all what this semester would entail, and was not sure what to expect.  Now it is over, and what a blur it was!  Standing on the other side, it feels slightly as if I just skipped through time. 

God has been teaching me a lot about trust these last few months.  If I'm learning anything, it is a simple and complete reliance on Him.  It's not easy, but He has been teaching me that when He says "Trust Me," to take Him at His word. 

I read in revelation 3:8:
I know thy works: behold, I have set before thee an open door, and no man can shut it: for thou hast a little strength, and hast kept my word, and hast not denied my name.

A little strength is right, but I trust that the door will be open when I get to it.

So I am writing this on Friday after my last final.  I had 6 finals, and unfortunately got the flu, or something similar to it yesterday before my fifth final.  Overall they went pretty well I think, except for the one today.  I was going to study yesterday for it, but did not feel well at all and had a hard time processing a whole lot of information.  Even though I had 6 finals, I think I did better on most of them than I have ever done on finals week.  Now I just wait for transcripts.

Now for a time of letting my brain repair itself, and then I get to do it all over again! Yay... 

Grinding into the Boilermaker Routine

So with the first week of classes nearly done, I have to say it was fairly typical of a first week.  Where switching back into school mode has been tough, I think it should be an ok Semester.  I went through and looked at all of my homework requirements for classes so hopefully I can avoid missing assignments this semester (I'm really good at doing that).

I just bought a new bike to replace the one that was stolen this summer.  Where getting something stolen is never fun, I actually really like my new bike.  It's in the shop right now for some minor repairs, the chain broke yesterday, and the sprockets are showing some wear.  This time I bought a heavy duty chain that can't be easily cut.  I've had 3 cables cut so far, so I'm done with those.  I had a friend who had to cut someone Else's bike off of his because they looped their cable around his bike. He did it with a leatherman tool.  So yeah I decided if I like this bike I'm going to upgrade.

I used an online scheduling aid for classes this semester, and then used that for my schedule.  Well apparently it made some mistakes in that it gave me the wrong room for one, and then one of the recitations are not on there.  So I nearly missed one class, then DID miss a recitation already.  I emailed profs though, and everything is still in order.  Trying to get into a french class.  I have been having trouble with getting the necessary permissions, and with finding an opening in the class.  But I think a place will open up in a bit, So I have been going to it without having to do the HW yet.  Not a bad deal I don't think.

Getting to know my new roommate too.  It has been interesting, but he is pretty willing to fit into whatever we want.  We told him that the freshman did all the dishes, and he shrugged his shoulders and I think would have done it.  Not sure why we didn't just go with that... Who needs a dishwasher?

So anyway things are starting to get rolling.  A few hiccups here and there, but all in all fairly smooth.

It's A Whole New World

I am now writing again from my desk here at Purdue.  So Thursday night we had an amazing evening with the missionaries and translators.  We had a dinner at the Klopfenstein House, then dessert at the Lugenbuhl's then a campfire in the newly dug pit back at Klopfensteins.  That was an amazing night of fellowship and it was definitely the way I wanted to spend my last day there.  Bazelais (sounds like bozly) showed off his amazing guitar skills as us Americans roasted marshmallows.  It was a really neat way to spend the night together. 

We had to be leaving the compound at 3:15 in order for me to catch the bus to the airport, which meant getting up at 2:45, which meant that sleeping wasn't going to do a whole lot for me that night, so we didn't.  We stayed around the campfire for a while, then hung out and then headed up to the roof for one last look at the Haitian starts before heading back to the states.

The trip went smoothly, there was a slight amount of confusion finding the right bus.  We got my stuff loaded up, asked if it was the bus to Port-au-Prince, they assured me it was, and then we asked if it was the voyager II, and thankfully we did because it turns out it wasn't our bus.  Anyway we caught the next one and all was fine.  I was able to do a lot of napping on the way back, which was especially nice for the 4-5 hour drive to Port... Not my favorite ride, especially at 4 in the morning.  But all went well.

On the plane back, I was looking forward to not talking to anyone, but it turns out that the guy next to me didn't have the same feeling.  It turned out fine though, he was a neat guy and we had a good conversation about our faith.  One nice thing about that flight is that most white folk are missionaries, so spiritual conversations are easy to have. 

In our conversation he asked me, "where is home for you?"  My immediate response was "I don't know."  We chuckled a little bit, and explained that I grew up in Indiana, go to Purdue, such and such.  But as the saying goes, Home is where your heart is, and I have to say that part of my heart was left in Haiti.  So now the journey continues as I walk in faith.  It is amazing that 3 months ago I was dreading going to Haiti, then a few days ago I was dreading leaving.  I have to say I left extremely blessed.  So many great relationships were formed, and good times had.  I am thankful that God called me down, and I just pray that His will has been done through me.  Even through my mistakes, shortcomings and weaknesses, I know that He is more powerful.  May God be Glorified.

Now here I sit, in a completely different world.  The transition has been pretty tough.  It's hard to get my mind wrapped around school work again.  I'm so thankful to have such warm memories to look back on.  I know that I am still where God has put me.  He is still guiding me, and for that I am thankful. 

Pictures

Soccer game

Jonas

Beach

Taking new generator to hydro

Road to baraderas (negotiating care of child)

One of the many times we walked and the gator drove

An evening out with Jonas

Yesterday Jonas approached me about attending a soccer game this evening. I wasn't completely sure about it at first, but as I got to thinking, going to some Haitian events and interacting completely outside of the compound sounded like a great opportunity, and indeed it was. 

So this afternoon I called Jonas, and told him I was interested in going. At this point I was really excited about the whole trip. Lugenbuhls were on a family drive, so it would just be Jonas and I. He told me to start walking downhill outside the main gate at 4.  So at 4 I start walking and before too long I find Jonas.  He grabs his motorcycle, I Jump on the back and we go. Riding a Haitian motorcycle was actually one of the things on my bucket list before leaving, and it was a really cool ride. Going downhill, they cut the engine to save gas. At he bottom of the hill, the pop the clutch and charge to the top of the next hill, then coast down again. Between this method, and having to go slow because of the rocks and potholes we were able to talk most of the way. Jonas explained how important it was to greet people as we passed. So he would shout to just about everyone. He said if you don't greet them, and you fall, they won't help you. 

So when we got to the field, it was enclosed by a big block wall with a gate manned by a couple of security guards. We paid the fee, they gave us wristbands like you would get at an amusement park, and we walked in. Inside Jonas showed me the local radio station, told me a bit about the history and introduced me to his friends, which he has a lot of. Apparently when Jonas isn't translating, he works at the radio station in Bonne Fin. He promised to show it to me one of these days. 

We got there a little early so we milled around until it was time for the game to start. It wasn't a huge game. I think it was probably very similar to intramural games in the states. But it was a lot of fun to watch. The best part was being able to see this perspective of Haiti. To be able to go with a native Haitian to an event and experience the culture outside of the compound. I'm not sure I heard someone yell "blan" (white/foreigner) once, and I only had one lady ask for money. So I felt like I blended in well. I wore a baseball cap, so maybe people couldn't tell I was white... Yeah probably not, but hey I tried. I got a few photos, but I will post later when I get decent Internet. I gave up trying to post pictures from the cottage.   

Down Shifting

Yesterday we said goodbye to Heather and Sheila, as Sheila is visiting the states for a month and Heather has finished up her time here in Haiti.   The thing with living as a missionary, it seems, is that people are cycling through all of the time.  So you build a relationship with one, then they leave and someone else comes, and the cycle starts over again.   It's actually pretty exhausting.  I guess that is sort of life right now though.  About everything is subject to change in an instant, and just when you get used to it, it changes in the next instant.  So I'm just doing my best to stay flexible and embrace the instants for the instant they are happening.  I made mention in an earlier blog that every week was new, and so it continues to prove itself true.  Heather and Sheila left yesterday, Klopfenstein Kids and Pfisters get back Tuesday, Josh and Lugenbuhl family leaves Thursday,  Then two weeks later I pack my bags and meet a completely new Purdue group, as well as a roommate that I have never met, nor talked to.  Exciting, sure, but to be completely honest it is pretty tiring.

 

Lugenbuhl's also went on a family retreat, so I will pretty much have run of the compound these next few days.  I'm thinking about taking a day-trip on the mountain somewhere either for this afternoon or tomorrow.  Probably tomorrow.  I'm pretty excited, it is something I've been wanting to do, but haven't yet had the opportunity. 

 

Also the project Josh and I were working on hit a stall point as well, so now we are sort of back to a small-project focus again until wire comes in, which I have no idea how long that will take.  Heather also taught me to manage the time-clock in the Hospital, a task I strongly encouraged her to hand off to me when she was planning on pulling an all nighter the night before she left, which she pretty much ended up doing anyway, but at least it wasn't all spent on the time-clock.  I will also be taking care of that for the duration of my stay here, so that will help Rich  out so he doesn't have to deal with that on top of his other responsibilities coming back.

 

So again the theme continues,  It's just the same old new thing down here.

Road to Barraderas

Yesterday we took a trip to Barraderas.  A coastal city on the northern shore of the lower peninsula.  Anyway it was a two hour drive through the mountainside.  The Drive was awesome and I'll see if I can get some more pictures posted.  We went equipped with backs of rice pilaf sent down from the states for distribution.  Along the way we would stop and hand them out to people that we came across.  That in itself was pretty interesting.  We gave some out to mountain men with no teeth, some to children, some to mothers.  We also went with candy and balloons for the children.  This is method in which we traveled to Barraderas.  When we arrived, we admired the old buildings, some of them said to be colonial, so 500 years old or so.  Many were still in decent shape.  The town was actually really cool.  It had a homey feeling.  Little houses with yards and a people milling about.  The town was also very clean, uncommon for many of the Haitian cities I've been through.  Thinking back I don't remember seeing any trash at all in the street, except a granola wrapper that may or may not have slipped out…. Oops…  Anyway going through this city, the road came to a river crossing, fairly common for Haiti.  Heather asked if the road continued on the other side, they assured us it did and waved us across the river.  What we didn't see was that  there was a spot in the river that held a buried branch that you couldn't get by.  Well we didn't need them to inform us about it, it turns out we found it on our own.  So now we are stuck.  People began to jump out of the Gator, and we attempt to get the Gator unstuck.  Daryl got a good shot of Heather trying to push me out before the excitement started, which made for a good laugh later.  So then Haitians began to appear.  A few men came out and with a little rocking, pushing and spinning, we make it out.  At this point we decide to give some things out to show our appreciation.  Well in a situation like this, it doesn't take long for things to get out of hand.  And that's what happened,  Literally.  There were people everywhere eager to receive whatever they could get, and it began to get somewhat mob-like.  So we got back in our vehicle and quickly resumed our journey.  We found that the road we continued on and realized the road didn't go much further than the river.  So we turned around, rode right back through the crowd, which had thinned considerably, and crossed the river again, this time without problem. 

So we continued on our way, passing out rice here and there, stopping at a few huts and talking to people.  I'm not sure what we would have done without Heather,  Her creole is good and she did all the talking.  At one point we decided to stop at a small group of houses and pass out some more bags to some houses down a little hill.  It doesn't take long to attract attention, and before long another group began to gather.  As people started to get worked up again, we knew we had to get out again, so we began to drive away.  This time, however, we encountered an unexpected twist.  A little girl had fallen into the fire a couple of days ago, and she was badly burned.  Her knees and stomach had severe burns, and the parents had no money to pay for it.  We didn't have much money on us, and handing out money usually isn't the best route to take anyway.  We had to get out of the crowd, so we drove for a bit.  This all took place in a minute.  We drove a bit to get out of the crowd, and stopped a little ways down the road, unsure of how to proceed.  We knew we couldn't leave, but we weren't sure what to do.   So we prayed.  Once Daryl was done praying we discussed our options.   There was a clinic close by which was a possibility, but we weren't sure of the capacity of it to handle this kind of burn.  We could take the girl In the Gator back to the hospital for treatment, or I had about $30 US in my wallet we could give.  We decided to check out the clinic first and go from there.  Well we got most of the way to the clinic, and then the Gator broke down.  Starting a cycle that would not soon end.  So Daryl, Norma, and Josh stayed with the vehicle while Heather and I set out to find this clinic.  It turns out it was about a 15 minute walk further down the road.  And with Heather's creole, we found it.  We found one nurse there, but no doctors.  So we headed back to the Gator. 

When we returned the Gator, we found Daryl, Norma and Josh chatting and laughing with some of the Haitians in the shade a little ways from the Gator.  These Haitians had taken them to the shade, and had brought them water to wash their faces.  Daryl and Norma's creole is limited, but Norma said she used every word she knew, and got to know a few of them. 

We discussed our options from here.  We couldn't take them to the clinic, giving money would not have been sufficient or of much help.  Also, Daryl made the good point about the sequence of the Gator breaking down and the prayer.  We believed that God was guiding us at this point, and with a broken down Gator we had our answer about taking the child on the Gator.  We still didn't want to leave.  An honest confession here, I would have left.  I didn't know what we could do, and taking the child seemed far fetched,  but Heather and the others knew we couldn't just leave.  So then the idea of a motorcycle taxi was brought up.  We could send the child ahead of us to the hospital, and so the local group called a taxi for us, and we returned to the house.  We found the parents, and after some discussion, and explaining that we would pay for the care, the father agreed to come with the daughter to the hospital.  We assured the driver that he would be paid at the Hospital, and they took off.  Once we were in cell phone range again, we called ahead and explained the situation.  Sheila would pay the taxi, and Doctors would be ready for the child.  Payment would be settled later. 

So now we headed out again on a journey much longer than it took to get there.  We were very thankful and peaceful for the resolution of the child, and were encouraged that our trip had been for a good reason.  We still had the issue of the Gator, however.  We think the problem was a dirty fuel filter.  Haitian Diesel isn't exactly clean, and the filters clog fairly quickly.  As it were we could only drive for a short distance before the engine quit, and we had to rest.  On big hills we would get out and walk, as one person would drive the Gator to the top, and give it a chance to rest.  We found that the lessened weight helped a lot.  God was with us, though.  We were all in high spirits.  This extended journey gave opportunity for testimonies to be shared, and conversations to be had.  We continued on bit by bit, receiving many questioning looks from the locals.  We continued to hand out rice if we were moving enough not to draw a crowd.  In this manner we finally made it back to the hospital, weary but happy.  Sheila had made us dinner, which we were very thankful for, and we settle down for a nice dinner and to share stories and laughs from the trip.  It was truly an adventure and a very blessed day.