Delaware!

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!