Ok so my laptop charger still doesn't work so I am posting this from my phone. That said, it will most likely lack the usual detail and pictures that I post until I am able to get a new charger. Also, forgive any type-o's that may occur-autocorrect likes to make me sound like a moron.
So moving on from Virginia, we went to Delaware! We were on the complete east side of VA so we were able to take the Chesapeake Bay Bridge up through Maryland. I'm not exactly sure the specs, but I think it's about 17 miles. Something like that. Two times it goes under water, which is pretty sweet. It was trippy though, as we're driving we saw this huge ship, then all of a sudden it looks like is driving over the bridge! Of course, that was the first tunnel, but it still was crazy looking!
We were pretty much going to the highest point of DE, so we drove through Maryland and then most of Delaware to get to Wilmington. The first couple of days we were there, it was pretty lame. It was hard to find people or even where people hang out so we went to our fall back: the mall. It was a good sized mall but didn't really offer great opportunity, at least at that time. Although we did jail pen upon this lid who was playing xbox on a demo that was set up. It was strange because he had all of the right answers, but was using foul language. That paired with his persona, it just seemed like or wasn't in his heart but after saying all that could be said, we left him to play his games
The rest of the day was actually pretty sweet- unsure of what else to do, we headed down to the riverfront.
(This is especially where I wish I could post pictures- not that it was especially gorgeous, but it was scenic enough.)
By the time we got there (early evening), everything was shut down but we walked up and down nevertheless. As we turned a corner, there was a man slowly walking, wearing a trench coat and Sherlock hat while smoking a pipe. An interesting character if nothing else. They talked for a bit and Marc was able to show him some verses.
He had a very sort of typical outlook: he believes in heaven & hell and thinks being a good person would get him in.
I guess a good response to that, albeit a little gruesome, would be this: do you have a child? Suppose someone took him, tortured him, and killed him in the most hurtful way there was then stood before the judge and said, "I don't deserve punishment- I've made some mistakes but I'm basically a good person."
Would you testify that that man should be let off? How much more so will we not be let off the hook when it was the son of God who was the one to suffer and die? No amount of good deeds can justify us from that.
After talking to him, we continued walking and came across a AAA baseball field. As we walked up, a dude standing on the sidewalk in front of us hands 2 tickets to the family in front of us. Dang it! Missed it by two seconds! Oh well. So we kept walking and saw an uncovered spot in the chain link fence so we stopped to watch the game for a bit. There were already two guys there waiting for foul balls and all of a sudden it made sense why we went able to get in. We got to talk and share and just hang out with them (Ed & Justin) for several innings and it was a sweet time. Around the seventh inning, a family walked by and offered us free tickets, so we were able to go in and watch the rest of the game. It was a great night!
On Tuesday, we were getting a little discouraged at the pack of large masses of people anywhere and really anything to actually do in Delaware so we figured we'd tap into our last resource- the university. After searching for what seemed like a really looking time for parking and finding "permit only" parking, we drove by a Presbyterian church and U jokingly said, "maybe they'll let us park there," which Marc thought was a great idea. We went in to check and I didn't think they'd actually say yes, but they did!
It was probably about a mile or two away from where we needed to be. Needless to say, we did a ton of walking that day, but it was super appreciated. If it wasn't for them, we may have left super early for Maryland, or at least never have walked around the University of Delaware or Main St, which is exactly what we did. As we walked towards campus, Marc started talking to this guy who said he was Catholic. Marc asked, "so you believe in heaven & hell then?" to which he replied, "well I guess I'm an atheist then". Marc tried to talk to him a little more, but he was super disinterested, to the point where he was nearly laughing then mid convo said, "it was nice talking to you," then sped up like CRAZY! He couldn't get away quickly enough!
Later that day we came across two dudes sitting on a bench. Turns out they've been best friends since the 6th grade and are now going to college together! How sweet is that?! One of them was a Christian but thought being a good person would get him in and the other (I believe) was an atheist. They were both really nice guys! Finally! It seemed like everyone else on the campus was a jerk! I think we just got used to the South, where, even if people are in the bar 6 nights a week, they're still a "Christian" so they're at least willing to sit & talk about Jesus with you.
Tuesday was a bit of tough day for me for a couple of reasons. One of the reasons is because I think this trip is trying to make me fat and unhealthy! Haha not exactly I guess, but I had been trying so hard to eat healthy and be active but on the road its just so hard- reading healthy on a budget is already tricky, but when I have no fridge and limited cooking resources, it feels nearly impossible to make any headway. And forget a gym pass! Who can afford that?! Not this jobless gypsy, that's for sure. Although these things were making my health quest feel hopeless, it wasn't the main thing that was bothering me. My irritation at life this day was mostly caused by being tired of the routine things of my life- seeing new things all the time had become mundane. It just wasn't exciting to me anymore. Everywhere we go is just more of the same. People are generally nice but everyone is misguided. Every mall looks the same-I can't even tell you how many I've been to- at least one, if not more, per state. I've walked through Sears countless times planning my dream kitchen. I've been in dozens upon dozens of Walmarts, watched Marc play too many of the same demo games. For some reason, this day it just all piled on top of me and I was over it. As Marc talked on the phone, I sat and read my Bible because I knew this funky attitude needed to go. I've learned from the past that if I let my attitude and mood fester, it becomes cancerous. I opened my Bible to Psalm 118, the next Psalm on my reading list. Coincidentally (or perhaps not), this is the Psalm believed to have been read by Jesus just before His betrayal. He says in it, "this is the day that the Lord has made, I will rejoice and be glad in it." Nothing makes you feel like more of a complainer than reading the joyful words of a man who knew He was about to experience the worst moment of His life. So I thanked the Lord for His goodness and tried to put it all in perspective.
Earlier that day, we read a flyer on a campus billboard for a Bible study that was going on that night, so when 7:00 came, we headed out to the campus house for dinner (sweet) and study. That's where we met Tyler (the campus minister) and his wife and baby momma, Jen, both super awesome people.
After study, they invited us to stay at their house, which we were really grateful for. Especially awesome was the fact that they eat super healthy!!!! What a blessing- after being discouraged about not being able to eat like I wanted to, God brought us to stay with people who fed us delicious food that was good for us! Of course, they were awesome for other reasons as well, but we were extra excited about the food.
On Wednesday morning, we headed back to the campus house (where the study was) to help out with a few things. First up: moving the pool table out of the basement and putting it in the lawn with a giant "free" sign on it. It was my job to make the sign, Marc had the more tedious job of disassembling and reassembling the table. Once all of the pieces were on the lawn, I put the sign up and we started to put the table back together. Five or ten minutes in, a man stopped to inquire! It took me longer to make the sign then it did for the table to be picked up! The best part about it: the gut who got it was a pizza delivery man so he brought us two free pizzas and some wings!! Awesome. I didn't have a whole lot cause I'm trying to be healthy but I figured I burned a ton of calories that day, so it wouldn't kill me.
After we were done with the pool table, we went inside to work. A bookshelf needed to be moved from a room to the common area but in order to do that we first half to move another bookshelf full of games then move a small pantry into its place, then the bookshelf finally into that space. It didn't take very long & was pretty easy. It was funny because as Marc and I were putting the books back, it made me realize, this is what we met doing 8 years ago now! We worked at the library together for just a day! But that's a story for another time.
Our next project was at the home of our gracious hosts! They've been planning a garden but haven't had the time to get it ready so we tilled the ground in the front plot then covered it in a couple of layers. Then came the back yard. So they had cut the grass of of this huge plot- probably about 12'x16', so we picked up a good amount of grass chunks and moved them off of the dirt. Then Marc mowed the front and back lawns. After that we, or at least I, was pooped so we called it a day.
The next day, Thursday, we got up to continue work on the garden. We were out for about 5 minutes when it started raining. After it became clear that it wasn't going to let up anytime soon, we packed it in and weighed our options. We didn't want to waste time, but where could we go in the rain? We decided to go sit in a coffee shop so we were at least encountering strangers, but instead we thought we'd give the mall one more shot.
Thankfully, we had some good conversations. We wandered into the Lovesac store because really, who doesn't love that place. We ended up on the end of one of the best sales pitches I've ever heard. We eventually got into a great discussion with the guys who worked there. Marc talked to one while I talked to the other. It was really sweet! After that we wandered through the Bose store, which I don't care much to do only because I hate feeling like I'm wasting people's time- I'm not going to buy anything and I hate to feel like I'm stringing them along. Marc however, lives the place and seems to lack the "this could be awkward" sense, so in we went. We didn't get any good conversation, but they showed is this tv that had incredible sound. As fantastic as it was, it was $5,000 or something ridiculous. After we left the store it dawned on me how easy it is to get all wrapped up in materialism. This couch was INCREDIBLE. Everything they said about it made it appear to be the perfect couch and I have yet to find a flaw with it. Well, besides the price that is. On average for just an average sized set, it is $3,500-5,000, and despite their price, my heart still wanted it and tried to find a way to justify it. After I saw the tv, it hit me that this is how they get you: they make you think you need this item. While I didn't really want the tv, if it was cheaper I would have. And already, without a job or money, I was nearly reeled in, even though we always talk about the importance of remaining debt free when we get home. Not that I think is willing to have things, but some stuff is just too ridiculous.
Anyways, we continued on to the Microsoft store where we got to talk to this dude named Mike who was an amazingly nice guy!! It was a really great day.
Shortly after, we left for the Campus House. Some of the group was getting together to go serve at a food pantry so we joined in.
It was actually really fun! The people who changed for food filed out a menu of foods they wanted and we received the papers and assembled their boxes with food. I like the service aspect of being able to help people, and not just them but also being a help to their church who runs it. And that was Thursday!
Most of Friday was dedicated to that dirt yard in the backyard. We set out to till it but because there were a huge tree growing 8-10 feet away, there was a TON of roots. This made it impossible to run the tiller over it, especially because we couldn't risk breaking it. Long story not so short, we spent probably 5-6 hours digging up roots and turning over dirt. It was hard (I got and popped 2 blisters) but very rewarding. Once we were both exhausted, we took showers and plopped down in front of a movie to relax before heading back to the Campus House to play Texas Hold 'Em with the group! Out of 7 or 8 people I came in 2nd or 3rd I think, but either way, I got a prize! Free movie tickets! Woohoo! We played again and I came in second, Marc came in 3rd so we got some funky hats as our prize. Then we played Risk! It was really fun but REALLY long. Probably needless to say, we
didn't finish, especially considering we started at 9:30.
Saturday morning we headed out to Maryland. A big thank you to Tyler & Jen for taking care of us & feeding us. You guys are awesome!
Monday, April 22, 2013
Delaware!
Monday, April 15, 2013
Virginia!
After leaving our friends in North Carolina, we were blessed to be on our way to a place with more friends! When we were in New Jersey (the first time) we made friends with these 2 girls who went to the Calvary there. We hung out a few times and developed an awesome friendship. They even came to see us when we were in Philly! Just our luck, they had moved down to Lynchburg, Virginia in January to attend Liberty University so we were able to spend a couple of days living the dorm life.
We got there on a Monday afternoon when they were already done with their classes, so we hung out for a little bit and when one of their other friends got off of work, they treated us to Texas Roadhouse! Sweet! Their rolls were stinking delicious. As we were being seated, we walked by a table where this guy reached over and handed us two little business cards, each one good for a free appetizer! So basically, we feasted. Most of us weren't very hungry by the time our actual meal got there, but we had good times and good fellowship. Afterwards, they were driving us around a part of their school called the Snowflex. It's this big hill where they essentially have astroturf snow-it's really bizarre, but you can go snowboarding/skiing there for free if you're a student. As stuffed as we all were, someone came up with the idea to go tubing! We started off on the baby hill which was slow and not that great, so we graduated ourselves to the big hill rather quickly. We had about an hour to kill on our passes and I'd say that we probably used most of it! Marc got to share with 2 of the attendants about what we were doing (traveling, not tubing) and we got our first taste of just how bizarre it was to be on a Christian campus. They were both believers and asking him about the journey and talking of the Lord. How great!
Since we were going to crash their classes with them the next day, Brittany shared with Marc the dress code-no shorts/t-shirts. He had to wear a collared shirt or hoodie and he couldn't wear the beanie he was always wearing that hid his little fro. He didn't like that very much, so she offered to corn row his hair, which is how we spent the last bit of our Monday.
Tuesday morning we got up and went to class! Sure haven't done that in a while! First up was Biblical Worldview with Dr. Matthews. He taught part one of his relativism presentation on moral relativism. So here I am at a university, which typically are Godless institutions, listening to a teacher pray before class begins, teach on how/why we should have a Biblical worldview, and bringing everything back to glorifying God. IN CLASS!! At a university! It was amazing!
Before class began, being the chatty Kathy he is, Marc started talking to the guy sitting next to him about his sketches. He asked him if he was a religious guy and he said, "I'm more spiritual" and went on to explain his beliefs about turning into energy or something weird like that. It was definitely funny how their conversation tied into what the professor would soon be teaching on. Just because a lot of people believe something, doesn't change the truth of the matter. Truth is truth. Awesomely, I had learned a lot of these basic principles back home from Pastor Mark and his teachings on apologetics. This encouraged me to learn more so that I could be in a place where I am able to teach these things one day, but who knows what will happen.
After that class, we had Psych 150. I've kind of always been weary of psychology as a Christian because they seem to do a lot of things backwards but yet again, this class was great! The topic wasn't the most exciting-it was "Boundaries", but the way the professor tied it together with being a Christian was fantastic. She talked about the boundaries God sets for us and for Himself and the boundaries that we put up and related it all back to Psychology. It was super sweet.
After class, we went back to the dining commons for lunch. The dorms where Brittany & Yve stay used to be a hotel, so they have a little cafeteria right inside. The set up there is pretty sweet. After Yve got back fro her afternoon class, we all played Yahtzee! I didn't get a Yahtzee :( but stinkin Yve got 3 in one game! Who gets three Yahtzees in one game?!
For dinner we went to their big cafeteria. It was MASSIVE. Seriously, I don't even know how to explain it. There were many different stations so you could have pretty much whatever you wanted. Mexican, Italian, Chinese, salad bar-it was like a huge buffet. After dinner, Marc spent a good chunk of the evening talking to this guy who went to school there about the trip and evangelizing/sharing your faith. I couldn't hear a whole lot of the conversation, but it seemed like it went well. Because it's a Christian school, the boys aren't allowed in girls dorms and vice versa, so anytime we were hanging out in the room, Marc had to be outside of the doorway, hence why the boys were talking outside. It was weird not sleeping with Marc two nights in a row, but it was nice to be able to hang out with my girls.
Wednesday was pretty sweet. (But backstory first-when we were in Alabama, our friend Joanna gave Marc a book to read called Evangelism Is... by one of her online professors, Dr. Wheeler. When we got to Liberty, Yve had just gotten out of her Evangelism class and recommended to Marc that he read the very same book!) So on Wednesday, Yve set up an appointment for us to meet up with him. We spent about an hour or more in his office asking him different questions about approaches and just talking about the Lord and evangelism. It was a really great time and especially touching because that particular day was an off day. There were no classes, but he came in to meet us anyways. He was extremely nice and very knowledgeable, so to be able to glean from him was pretty fantastic. He talked a lot about building relationships with people, namely his students, and how when you show someone you care about them it opens all kinds of doors.
After our meeting, we went to lunch at the 3rd dining commons on campus! As we took the free bus back to the dorms, we were sitting there talking when, from a couple rows back, we hear this guy say, "I just wanted to share these verses with you guys." Then he read a few verses and shared what God had been putting on his heart. The whole time I felt like, "Where am I?! This is so bizarre!" In an awesome way of course, but here you are in public and this dude stands up and starts sharing from the word. And it was received! It was definitely a moment to remember.
So we got back and said our good byes to our awesome friends, and then left for Virginia Beach. On our way, we drove through Colonial Williamsburg and by Jamestown. Isn't that awesome! I felt like watching Pocahontas or something. Then we continued on to the east side of Virginia to visit our old friend, Bobby. He had just moved there after 3 years of being stationed in Italy! As awesome as that sounds, he insisted that it wasn't and I guess he would know better than us!
Our first full day being there, we had phone issues so we went to T-Mobile to get them taken care of. Thank the Lord, we got a new phone for free and they even next day shipped it! How sweet is that! Then we walked around the mall for a bit, but there wasn't too much going on so we spent the rest of the evening hanging out with Bobby.
Friday we had a couple of errands to run then we went down to the beach. Unfortunately it was overcast so there weren't a whole lot of people out. There was an older gentleman sitting outside of a store that I went into, so Marc started shmoozing with him. They were able to talk for a minute or two, but then his wife came out and they were off to the next place.
Saturday was a much more awesome day! We pretty much chilled with Bobby all day-Petco was first on the list. He wanted to see if they had puppy adoptions that day. Unfortunately they didn't, so we moved on. From there, we went shooting! There was a range nearby so we spent a good little while there. They boys mostly shot, but towards the end, I emptied a couple of clips, too. No lie, I was afraid that the rifle was going to hit me in the face. It didn't, thank the Lord, and after the first shot, I realized, "hey, this is awesome!" Marc was happy that he got to shoot an AK-47. Then we had lunch! Normally Chinese buffets sound terrible, but this one was really good! So we stuffed ourselves like the turkeys we are, then headed home. Later that night, we had a bonfire & made smores. All in all, it was a great Saturday!
Sunday morning, of course, was church at Calvary Chapel Virginia Beach. The lesson was great and the people seemed nice. The ushers greeted us, but that was about it. And then we headed out to Delaware!
To get there, we had to take the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel. It was a nice, scenic drive, and then we were in Delaware! (Well, Virginia, then Maryland, then Delaware, but whatever.)
:)
We got there on a Monday afternoon when they were already done with their classes, so we hung out for a little bit and when one of their other friends got off of work, they treated us to Texas Roadhouse! Sweet! Their rolls were stinking delicious. As we were being seated, we walked by a table where this guy reached over and handed us two little business cards, each one good for a free appetizer! So basically, we feasted. Most of us weren't very hungry by the time our actual meal got there, but we had good times and good fellowship. Afterwards, they were driving us around a part of their school called the Snowflex. It's this big hill where they essentially have astroturf snow-it's really bizarre, but you can go snowboarding/skiing there for free if you're a student. As stuffed as we all were, someone came up with the idea to go tubing! We started off on the baby hill which was slow and not that great, so we graduated ourselves to the big hill rather quickly. We had about an hour to kill on our passes and I'd say that we probably used most of it! Marc got to share with 2 of the attendants about what we were doing (traveling, not tubing) and we got our first taste of just how bizarre it was to be on a Christian campus. They were both believers and asking him about the journey and talking of the Lord. How great!
Since we were going to crash their classes with them the next day, Brittany shared with Marc the dress code-no shorts/t-shirts. He had to wear a collared shirt or hoodie and he couldn't wear the beanie he was always wearing that hid his little fro. He didn't like that very much, so she offered to corn row his hair, which is how we spent the last bit of our Monday.
Tuesday morning we got up and went to class! Sure haven't done that in a while! First up was Biblical Worldview with Dr. Matthews. He taught part one of his relativism presentation on moral relativism. So here I am at a university, which typically are Godless institutions, listening to a teacher pray before class begins, teach on how/why we should have a Biblical worldview, and bringing everything back to glorifying God. IN CLASS!! At a university! It was amazing!
Before class began, being the chatty Kathy he is, Marc started talking to the guy sitting next to him about his sketches. He asked him if he was a religious guy and he said, "I'm more spiritual" and went on to explain his beliefs about turning into energy or something weird like that. It was definitely funny how their conversation tied into what the professor would soon be teaching on. Just because a lot of people believe something, doesn't change the truth of the matter. Truth is truth. Awesomely, I had learned a lot of these basic principles back home from Pastor Mark and his teachings on apologetics. This encouraged me to learn more so that I could be in a place where I am able to teach these things one day, but who knows what will happen.
After that class, we had Psych 150. I've kind of always been weary of psychology as a Christian because they seem to do a lot of things backwards but yet again, this class was great! The topic wasn't the most exciting-it was "Boundaries", but the way the professor tied it together with being a Christian was fantastic. She talked about the boundaries God sets for us and for Himself and the boundaries that we put up and related it all back to Psychology. It was super sweet.
After class, we went back to the dining commons for lunch. The dorms where Brittany & Yve stay used to be a hotel, so they have a little cafeteria right inside. The set up there is pretty sweet. After Yve got back fro her afternoon class, we all played Yahtzee! I didn't get a Yahtzee :( but stinkin Yve got 3 in one game! Who gets three Yahtzees in one game?!
For dinner we went to their big cafeteria. It was MASSIVE. Seriously, I don't even know how to explain it. There were many different stations so you could have pretty much whatever you wanted. Mexican, Italian, Chinese, salad bar-it was like a huge buffet. After dinner, Marc spent a good chunk of the evening talking to this guy who went to school there about the trip and evangelizing/sharing your faith. I couldn't hear a whole lot of the conversation, but it seemed like it went well. Because it's a Christian school, the boys aren't allowed in girls dorms and vice versa, so anytime we were hanging out in the room, Marc had to be outside of the doorway, hence why the boys were talking outside. It was weird not sleeping with Marc two nights in a row, but it was nice to be able to hang out with my girls.
Wednesday was pretty sweet. (But backstory first-when we were in Alabama, our friend Joanna gave Marc a book to read called Evangelism Is... by one of her online professors, Dr. Wheeler. When we got to Liberty, Yve had just gotten out of her Evangelism class and recommended to Marc that he read the very same book!) So on Wednesday, Yve set up an appointment for us to meet up with him. We spent about an hour or more in his office asking him different questions about approaches and just talking about the Lord and evangelism. It was a really great time and especially touching because that particular day was an off day. There were no classes, but he came in to meet us anyways. He was extremely nice and very knowledgeable, so to be able to glean from him was pretty fantastic. He talked a lot about building relationships with people, namely his students, and how when you show someone you care about them it opens all kinds of doors.
After our meeting, we went to lunch at the 3rd dining commons on campus! As we took the free bus back to the dorms, we were sitting there talking when, from a couple rows back, we hear this guy say, "I just wanted to share these verses with you guys." Then he read a few verses and shared what God had been putting on his heart. The whole time I felt like, "Where am I?! This is so bizarre!" In an awesome way of course, but here you are in public and this dude stands up and starts sharing from the word. And it was received! It was definitely a moment to remember.
So we got back and said our good byes to our awesome friends, and then left for Virginia Beach. On our way, we drove through Colonial Williamsburg and by Jamestown. Isn't that awesome! I felt like watching Pocahontas or something. Then we continued on to the east side of Virginia to visit our old friend, Bobby. He had just moved there after 3 years of being stationed in Italy! As awesome as that sounds, he insisted that it wasn't and I guess he would know better than us!
Our first full day being there, we had phone issues so we went to T-Mobile to get them taken care of. Thank the Lord, we got a new phone for free and they even next day shipped it! How sweet is that! Then we walked around the mall for a bit, but there wasn't too much going on so we spent the rest of the evening hanging out with Bobby.
Friday we had a couple of errands to run then we went down to the beach. Unfortunately it was overcast so there weren't a whole lot of people out. There was an older gentleman sitting outside of a store that I went into, so Marc started shmoozing with him. They were able to talk for a minute or two, but then his wife came out and they were off to the next place.
Saturday was a much more awesome day! We pretty much chilled with Bobby all day-Petco was first on the list. He wanted to see if they had puppy adoptions that day. Unfortunately they didn't, so we moved on. From there, we went shooting! There was a range nearby so we spent a good little while there. They boys mostly shot, but towards the end, I emptied a couple of clips, too. No lie, I was afraid that the rifle was going to hit me in the face. It didn't, thank the Lord, and after the first shot, I realized, "hey, this is awesome!" Marc was happy that he got to shoot an AK-47. Then we had lunch! Normally Chinese buffets sound terrible, but this one was really good! So we stuffed ourselves like the turkeys we are, then headed home. Later that night, we had a bonfire & made smores. All in all, it was a great Saturday!
Sunday morning, of course, was church at Calvary Chapel Virginia Beach. The lesson was great and the people seemed nice. The ushers greeted us, but that was about it. And then we headed out to Delaware!
To get there, we had to take the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel. It was a nice, scenic drive, and then we were in Delaware! (Well, Virginia, then Maryland, then Delaware, but whatever.)
:)
State #35!
feast! No lie, that chicken caesar was BOMB
Colleen, Yve, Brittany, Marc & I
Overlooking Lynchburg & Liberty University
the baby hill we tubed down...
....and the much bigger one
I found a frog! We named him Frank.
Marc getting cornrows...
Yve & Brittany on the bus
football stadium!
I <3 these people
"Pre-Trib Research Center" ...at a university. Crazy!
world's largest dining commons
until next time!
Sweet!
Isn't my love sweet? He made me a delicious, healthy dinner!
and dessert!
no cussing in Virginia Beach :)
shooting the .40
next to me is the M1A that I thought was going to hit me in the face!
Marc & the AK47 he was so
excited about shooting
the M1A
bonfire! Sweet!
Thursday, April 11, 2013
North Carolina
(sorry there are no pictures in this one-my laptop charger died so I had to do this from someone else's computer)
North Carolina! State #34! Started out badly!
We pulled off the road as usual to take our "Welcome to North Carolina" picture, when I noticed a pretty big puddle underneath the van. So we got in and drove a mile or two to the next rest stop and called our awesome mechanic, Steve Kirkwood. (If you live in Mo Val, call him to work on your car. He's fantastic.) Turns out there wasn't a whole lot wrong with it, Monstro just has a hard time going up and down hills, which we had been doing a lot of. So we got back in and off we went!
We got to Winston-Salem, North Carolina on Good Friday, just in time for service!
Never before in my life have I been to a Good Friday service because I always figure, "oh, I'll just go to Easter service. Same thing, no biggie," but for some reason this year, I really wanted to go. I wasn't really sure why, but I felt almost like I needed to be there. I think mostly because this year, it just felt heavier to think about what God ad done for me. In the past, when I was first learning to walk with God, I lived a very hypocritical life unfortunately. I went to church and I loved God and I loved what Jesus had done for me but I think that at that point, it was all about what God had done for me, focusing on the "me" part. I would be at church and the feeling that I got from it was unlike anything I'd ever felt before. I felt so clean-that's the only way I can explain it, it was an overwhelming feeling of cleanliness. I didn't necessarily feel dirty when I wasn't at church, but when I was there, hearing the word, worshiping, it was an indescribable difference. At the church I was going to, we took communion every week. As they passed it out, I would hold the bread and look at the cup and every week without fail, it made me cry-hard. Back in those days, I didn't cry and if I did, it was for a really good reason. I think I only remember crying twice in that whole year, besides at church. I think deep down, I knew it was because I was leading a totally compromised life and looking at these symbols made me realize the truth of the statement-this is the body of Christ broken for Bonnie, and the blood of Christ shed for Bonnie. Jesus suffered and died for me. Too often I forget the gravity of these words because they're said so often-a man who was God, spent His life in pursuit of me, so I could become a follower of Him. He was whipped and beaten so badly that many die, then He was nailed to a cross and He did all of this willingly so that I could know God. Yet here I was, every Sunday, convicted because I was abusing the system. He did all of this for me, but I lived however I wanted to Sunday night-Saturday night. I did things that I knew were wrong in God's eyes, but I didn't really care-society had conditioned me to love these things and I accepted it and embraced it. I loved my life but when I was at church, I wanted to change. Not because I ever felt condemned because I didn't, which was the amazing part about it. I felt God's love and I wanted so much to make Him happy. I would sit there thinking, "I want to stop cussing and drinking and I need to break up with my boyfriend" and I did genuinely want these things, but as soon as I walked out of the building, it's as if I never felt that way. James 1:23-24 says it perfectly: "For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror; for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was." At church, I saw the potential that God saw in me and I loved it, but as soon as I left, I forgot. So every Sunday when I went back, I would hold the communion cup and remember that I laid these stripes on my Savior, my King who willingly made the choice to save me while I continually made the choice to put Him on the cross. I don't know if I fully realized at the time why I always cried, but this year, looking back on where He had brought me from since then, I definitely knew. I knew that that stripe was for my lying habit, and that one was for my pride, the other my inability to forgive. So many things that were laid upon my Jesus because of me and I needed to be at Good Friday service to honor Him. All that to explain why we made sure to be in North Carolina, because we knew they had a GF service and I needed to be there.
And it was AMAZING. They just went through two chapters of Matthew that talk about the Last Supper and the crucifixion. There wasn't really a message-different people came up and read different verses and the scriptures spoke for themselves. How could I so easily overlook one of the most important events in history and my life? What a fool I had been.
So service was fantastic. It was especially cool to be able to see our friends again. Pastor Gregg & Cathy Griffith had moved out there about 3 years ago to start Calvary Chapel Fellowship of Winston-Salem and Joe & Ashlee Ziemann with them. I hadn't met Joe & Ashlee before our first time passing through NC, but they are definitely special people. Also there are 2 of the Griffiths daughters, Amber & Kristin then Kristin's husband Ricky who was actually our wedding photographer. How sweet to have so many friends in one place!
On Saturday, we went over to Joe's friend's house (Derek & Malisa) and had a BBQ! They were super nice. One really cool thing that happened while we were there was that we had a grown up conversation and actually enjoyed it! We've never done that before! They were talking about bills, property, assets and things like that and we were both very interested in the things he was saying. That has pretty much never happened before-generally these things don't apply to us so we basically tune them out and become really bored but as this trip is coming to a close, we talk more and more about these things and so finally, we're interested in them. It got us even more excited about the future especially because we're always hesitant to buy a house because of the debt factor, but they showed us an Excel spreadsheet that shows you when you pay even a little bit extra on every payment, it takes off more than you are actually paying. If that makes sense, but it was encouraging to see that we can knock years off of our loan by just being responsible with our money. So we had a great day!
Sunday was Easter, another monumental day in the faith. :) Service was so good, I just love my Jesus. Afterwards the church was having a potluck so we got our grub on and hung out with Kristin, Ricky, and Ricky's boss, Kyle & his wife Kaylah. Sweet people man, good times. Later that night, we went with Joe & Ashlee to the Griffiths for dinner and some fierce games of Jenga!
Monday we went to the mall to try to talk to people, but not too much was going on. It was a big enough mall, but we couldn't really start any conversations so instead we hung out with Ricky at Teavana for a while then went with him to get lunch. We killed most of the day moseying our way around the mall, so then we went back to the house to kick it with Ashlee and Joseph (the baby) until big Joe got home.
Tuesday was pretty uneventful as well. We drove around downtown a bit looking for the "kick it spot", but there wasn't really one there so we ended up at Krankie's Coffee, a total hipster spot in an old semi-industrial building. I got the idea that they were going for, but it was just a bit too rough & dirty. The tables were spread out just far enough that it was hard to talk to anyone around you naturally so we had our studies and weren't there for very long. Eventually we gave up and just went home. And by home I mean Joe & Ashlee's house.
We really had such a great time hanging out with them. Not to mention that their baby is ridiculously adorable. They were having a really crazy week and I'm sure it wasn't the best of times for us to be there, but they made us feel so welcome. Some of their plumbing had stopped working and it seemed like something broke every other day but they were in great spirits the whole time, despite all of the issues. The plumbing was already being a pain in the butt and every time someone was supposed to come fix it, something happened that prolonged it. (The ground was too wet to dig, the fence was too close to the tap, the ground was blah blah blah. It was ridiculous.) On Thursday, Joe's car broke down so he got it towed home & he and Marc spent the day changing the alternator in his Jeep. The next morning, Ashlee woke us up to see if Marc could go get Joe because his Jeep had overheated and he was on the side of the road so Saturday was spent fixing the Jeep's radiator. Even in all of this, they were not only great hosts and friends, but excellent examples of Christ.
Winston-Salem isn't exactly the most hang out friendly spot we've ever been to so finding people was a little rougher. Our back up was usually the mall but even that never really worked out well. We went to a nearby park a couple of times to see who we could share with. The first time was really good-Marc started playing soccer with these two guys. The older one didn't really speak English but I think he was a church going man. The younger one went to church as well, he was actually the drummer on the worship team but he said that he didn't understand anything they talk about at church because nobody explains it to him. So they talked for a few minutes but then the guys had to go so Marc gave him a card and told him that if he wanted to get together, Marc would try to answer his questions. The other time we went to the park, nothing happened. We walked around but to start with there weren't too many people out so the people that we tried to talk to didn't really bite on the conversation so we sat and watched some people play tennis, and then headed out.
Here is something noteworthy that happened-on Thursday, Marc and Joe had spent all day changing the alternator in the Jeep & by the end of the day, it worked! Then on Friday morning around maybe 7:45, Ashlee woke us up and asked Marc if he would take Joe some coolant because he was overheated on the side of the road. Gosh, poor guy! He had already missed a whole day of work because of his jeep and it was looking that way again. Eventually they got the Jeep home and Marc took Joe to work and then we went to Autozone to get a Jeep manual so Marc could troubleshoot, which he did-all day. But while we were there, the worker recognized him from yesterday so they got to talking, first about cars but after we were rung up and leaving, he followed us outside to keep talking so Marc was able to talk with him for close to 20 minutes, give or take. He didn't get to say as much as he wanted because the guy had to go back to work, but it was just cool to see how faithful God is to always bring us people, even when we're not expecting it. Marc tried a few different things throughout the day but the Jeep was still overheating, so Saturday was spent on the Jeep. Marc and I washed Monstro also. About time! He was filthy!
Sunday was a great day! After church, we headed out to Mt. Airy, better known as Mayberry-the city where "The Andy Griffith Show" was filmed! It was a sweet little walk up and down with a lot of typical tourist shops-t shirts, postcards, candy. Down the street a little bit was Wally's service station, it was old school and looked awesome! After we were done walking there, we went to Pilot Mountain and walked around the rock formations a bit. It was gorgeous! I love seeing the different scenery & beauty that God has designed.
That night, Ashlee made a delicious dinner! The Griffiths came over to say bye and we had a great time. So all in all, North Carolina was pretty great. We were there 10 or 11 days and really had a wonderful time, especially hanging out with familiar faces.
On to Virginia!
North Carolina! State #34! Started out badly!
We pulled off the road as usual to take our "Welcome to North Carolina" picture, when I noticed a pretty big puddle underneath the van. So we got in and drove a mile or two to the next rest stop and called our awesome mechanic, Steve Kirkwood. (If you live in Mo Val, call him to work on your car. He's fantastic.) Turns out there wasn't a whole lot wrong with it, Monstro just has a hard time going up and down hills, which we had been doing a lot of. So we got back in and off we went!
We got to Winston-Salem, North Carolina on Good Friday, just in time for service!
Never before in my life have I been to a Good Friday service because I always figure, "oh, I'll just go to Easter service. Same thing, no biggie," but for some reason this year, I really wanted to go. I wasn't really sure why, but I felt almost like I needed to be there. I think mostly because this year, it just felt heavier to think about what God ad done for me. In the past, when I was first learning to walk with God, I lived a very hypocritical life unfortunately. I went to church and I loved God and I loved what Jesus had done for me but I think that at that point, it was all about what God had done for me, focusing on the "me" part. I would be at church and the feeling that I got from it was unlike anything I'd ever felt before. I felt so clean-that's the only way I can explain it, it was an overwhelming feeling of cleanliness. I didn't necessarily feel dirty when I wasn't at church, but when I was there, hearing the word, worshiping, it was an indescribable difference. At the church I was going to, we took communion every week. As they passed it out, I would hold the bread and look at the cup and every week without fail, it made me cry-hard. Back in those days, I didn't cry and if I did, it was for a really good reason. I think I only remember crying twice in that whole year, besides at church. I think deep down, I knew it was because I was leading a totally compromised life and looking at these symbols made me realize the truth of the statement-this is the body of Christ broken for Bonnie, and the blood of Christ shed for Bonnie. Jesus suffered and died for me. Too often I forget the gravity of these words because they're said so often-a man who was God, spent His life in pursuit of me, so I could become a follower of Him. He was whipped and beaten so badly that many die, then He was nailed to a cross and He did all of this willingly so that I could know God. Yet here I was, every Sunday, convicted because I was abusing the system. He did all of this for me, but I lived however I wanted to Sunday night-Saturday night. I did things that I knew were wrong in God's eyes, but I didn't really care-society had conditioned me to love these things and I accepted it and embraced it. I loved my life but when I was at church, I wanted to change. Not because I ever felt condemned because I didn't, which was the amazing part about it. I felt God's love and I wanted so much to make Him happy. I would sit there thinking, "I want to stop cussing and drinking and I need to break up with my boyfriend" and I did genuinely want these things, but as soon as I walked out of the building, it's as if I never felt that way. James 1:23-24 says it perfectly: "For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror; for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was." At church, I saw the potential that God saw in me and I loved it, but as soon as I left, I forgot. So every Sunday when I went back, I would hold the communion cup and remember that I laid these stripes on my Savior, my King who willingly made the choice to save me while I continually made the choice to put Him on the cross. I don't know if I fully realized at the time why I always cried, but this year, looking back on where He had brought me from since then, I definitely knew. I knew that that stripe was for my lying habit, and that one was for my pride, the other my inability to forgive. So many things that were laid upon my Jesus because of me and I needed to be at Good Friday service to honor Him. All that to explain why we made sure to be in North Carolina, because we knew they had a GF service and I needed to be there.
And it was AMAZING. They just went through two chapters of Matthew that talk about the Last Supper and the crucifixion. There wasn't really a message-different people came up and read different verses and the scriptures spoke for themselves. How could I so easily overlook one of the most important events in history and my life? What a fool I had been.
So service was fantastic. It was especially cool to be able to see our friends again. Pastor Gregg & Cathy Griffith had moved out there about 3 years ago to start Calvary Chapel Fellowship of Winston-Salem and Joe & Ashlee Ziemann with them. I hadn't met Joe & Ashlee before our first time passing through NC, but they are definitely special people. Also there are 2 of the Griffiths daughters, Amber & Kristin then Kristin's husband Ricky who was actually our wedding photographer. How sweet to have so many friends in one place!
On Saturday, we went over to Joe's friend's house (Derek & Malisa) and had a BBQ! They were super nice. One really cool thing that happened while we were there was that we had a grown up conversation and actually enjoyed it! We've never done that before! They were talking about bills, property, assets and things like that and we were both very interested in the things he was saying. That has pretty much never happened before-generally these things don't apply to us so we basically tune them out and become really bored but as this trip is coming to a close, we talk more and more about these things and so finally, we're interested in them. It got us even more excited about the future especially because we're always hesitant to buy a house because of the debt factor, but they showed us an Excel spreadsheet that shows you when you pay even a little bit extra on every payment, it takes off more than you are actually paying. If that makes sense, but it was encouraging to see that we can knock years off of our loan by just being responsible with our money. So we had a great day!
Sunday was Easter, another monumental day in the faith. :) Service was so good, I just love my Jesus. Afterwards the church was having a potluck so we got our grub on and hung out with Kristin, Ricky, and Ricky's boss, Kyle & his wife Kaylah. Sweet people man, good times. Later that night, we went with Joe & Ashlee to the Griffiths for dinner and some fierce games of Jenga!
Monday we went to the mall to try to talk to people, but not too much was going on. It was a big enough mall, but we couldn't really start any conversations so instead we hung out with Ricky at Teavana for a while then went with him to get lunch. We killed most of the day moseying our way around the mall, so then we went back to the house to kick it with Ashlee and Joseph (the baby) until big Joe got home.
Tuesday was pretty uneventful as well. We drove around downtown a bit looking for the "kick it spot", but there wasn't really one there so we ended up at Krankie's Coffee, a total hipster spot in an old semi-industrial building. I got the idea that they were going for, but it was just a bit too rough & dirty. The tables were spread out just far enough that it was hard to talk to anyone around you naturally so we had our studies and weren't there for very long. Eventually we gave up and just went home. And by home I mean Joe & Ashlee's house.
We really had such a great time hanging out with them. Not to mention that their baby is ridiculously adorable. They were having a really crazy week and I'm sure it wasn't the best of times for us to be there, but they made us feel so welcome. Some of their plumbing had stopped working and it seemed like something broke every other day but they were in great spirits the whole time, despite all of the issues. The plumbing was already being a pain in the butt and every time someone was supposed to come fix it, something happened that prolonged it. (The ground was too wet to dig, the fence was too close to the tap, the ground was blah blah blah. It was ridiculous.) On Thursday, Joe's car broke down so he got it towed home & he and Marc spent the day changing the alternator in his Jeep. The next morning, Ashlee woke us up to see if Marc could go get Joe because his Jeep had overheated and he was on the side of the road so Saturday was spent fixing the Jeep's radiator. Even in all of this, they were not only great hosts and friends, but excellent examples of Christ.
Winston-Salem isn't exactly the most hang out friendly spot we've ever been to so finding people was a little rougher. Our back up was usually the mall but even that never really worked out well. We went to a nearby park a couple of times to see who we could share with. The first time was really good-Marc started playing soccer with these two guys. The older one didn't really speak English but I think he was a church going man. The younger one went to church as well, he was actually the drummer on the worship team but he said that he didn't understand anything they talk about at church because nobody explains it to him. So they talked for a few minutes but then the guys had to go so Marc gave him a card and told him that if he wanted to get together, Marc would try to answer his questions. The other time we went to the park, nothing happened. We walked around but to start with there weren't too many people out so the people that we tried to talk to didn't really bite on the conversation so we sat and watched some people play tennis, and then headed out.
Here is something noteworthy that happened-on Thursday, Marc and Joe had spent all day changing the alternator in the Jeep & by the end of the day, it worked! Then on Friday morning around maybe 7:45, Ashlee woke us up and asked Marc if he would take Joe some coolant because he was overheated on the side of the road. Gosh, poor guy! He had already missed a whole day of work because of his jeep and it was looking that way again. Eventually they got the Jeep home and Marc took Joe to work and then we went to Autozone to get a Jeep manual so Marc could troubleshoot, which he did-all day. But while we were there, the worker recognized him from yesterday so they got to talking, first about cars but after we were rung up and leaving, he followed us outside to keep talking so Marc was able to talk with him for close to 20 minutes, give or take. He didn't get to say as much as he wanted because the guy had to go back to work, but it was just cool to see how faithful God is to always bring us people, even when we're not expecting it. Marc tried a few different things throughout the day but the Jeep was still overheating, so Saturday was spent on the Jeep. Marc and I washed Monstro also. About time! He was filthy!
Sunday was a great day! After church, we headed out to Mt. Airy, better known as Mayberry-the city where "The Andy Griffith Show" was filmed! It was a sweet little walk up and down with a lot of typical tourist shops-t shirts, postcards, candy. Down the street a little bit was Wally's service station, it was old school and looked awesome! After we were done walking there, we went to Pilot Mountain and walked around the rock formations a bit. It was gorgeous! I love seeing the different scenery & beauty that God has designed.
That night, Ashlee made a delicious dinner! The Griffiths came over to say bye and we had a great time. So all in all, North Carolina was pretty great. We were there 10 or 11 days and really had a wonderful time, especially hanging out with familiar faces.
On to Virginia!
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