Sick of Being Sick!

Why is it that we all inevitably get sick during this time of year? Yes, I know it is cold, and we have nasty weather, but why!? The worst part is when one day you feel just fine, and the next, you wake up sick.

Yep, you guessed it...I woke up sick on Monday morning, and it was a baaaaad start to day. Not to mention the fact that I had tossed and turned all night, hardly getting any sleep, and had terrible dreams. Here it is, Friday morning, and I am finally starting to get over this cold.

Of course when a college kid gets sick, he or she will not:
1. Want to go to ANY classes
2. Want to go to any meetings
3. Want to do anything but sleep
4. Have mom around to get chicken broth, do the dishes, or clean up the room

All of these are not exactly conducive to a studious atmosphere. Lucky for me, I was motivated enough to go to every single one of my classes this week, I went to all of my meetings, slept between classes, and even found the energy to work. Unfortunately, that dreaded number 4 snuck up on me...I made food for myself all week, but did I want to clean up? I think that this photo says it all...



On another note, the musical is cast! I am so excited for this show, mainly because it is a super fun musical to be a part of, I'm assuming it will be anyways. I was cast as the ever enticing "Appasionata Von Climax," General Bullmoose's classified secretary. Intrigued? Plan on making a trip to Waynesburg the first weekend of April. The show opens on April 1st. Contact Eddie Powers at EPowers@waynesburg.edu for show information and seat reservations.

I don't remember the last time I actually saw Ryan this week. I think that it was Wednesday in the mail room where he works on campus. With our crazy busy schedules, it is hard to find time during the week to even have lunch! Lucky for me, I have a fantastic fiancee who brought me and my roommate flowers last week, just because. They are doing "Choose to Lose," a six week weight loss program on campus, together, so he brought her some to say, "Good Luck!" So I have had a little reminder of him in my room even when I don't see him often.



Beautiful. Until next time, God Bless!

Like a Merry-Go-Round...

It seems as though my life is like a merry-go-round...it keeps getting faster and faster until I don't know what to do with myself but sit back and enjoy the ride.

I am already two weeks into the total fifteen of my last semester of my senior year...and I don't know how it happened! It seems like I just got back from Jamaica, and the thing is that it also seems like I have been back for a month! Two weeks down and thirteen to go...WHAT?! I guess that as I write this, it is hitting me more and more that I will be graduated in less than four months!

Thankfully, there have been a few good opportunities that have presented themselves to me in terms of post-graduate jobs. I think right now the most promising, and exciting for me, is with an organization called Teach for America. They take recent graduates, who don't have education degrees, and give them the training they need to teach. Even better than that, they place their employees in areas that are in need of good teachers. Teach for America's mission is "to build the movement to eliminate educational inequity by enlisting our nation's most promising future leaders in the effort" (teachforamerica.org). A friend of mine from California casually mentioned the program to me while we were visiting, and it seemed like things began to fall into place! I went home, looked them up online, and applied the next week.

One of the other opportunities I have is working with the Coalition for Christian Outreach (CCO). Their motto is "Transforming college students to transform the world" (ccojubilee.org). They work on and around college campuses to mentor students and to challenge them to integrate their faith with their learning and beyond that. We have several CCO members who work with us here at Waynesburg University, and they have made a grand impact on my life. I was able to participate in a summer trip with them two years ago, called Leadership and Discipleship in the Wilderness (LDW). It was an amazing experience! I was in the middle of the Georgian Bay in Canada for a month with 15 others. We sea kayaked, and did a lot of looking into ourselves. The trip completely changed my life, and how I approach many situations.



Well, back to the present...Auditions for Lil Abner, the spring musical, took place this last week. I am super excited to find out about the results of the auditions, which will hopefully be up today...and if not, Monday. I am ready for a nice weekend, which is very uneventful, and that is fine with me! I plan to continue reading the Twilight series! I finished the third book last night, and I am ready to find out what happens next!

Tune in next time!

Back and Ready to Go!

This year, after a nice, long, four-week winter break, I am content. I was ready to come back, it wasn't too short, AND I got to go to JAMAICA!

Waynesburg University puts on several service trips throughout the school year, and along with sixteen other students I traveled to Montego Bay, Jamaica. We worked with Mustard Seed Communities (www.mustardseed.com). The community, Blessed Assurance, is one of several that are built and supported by MSC. They house and care for physically and mentally handicapped children, children with HIV, and teen mothers. All of these children are orphans, and they all needed our love.





We were there from January 3rd through the 10th, and worked hard to continue progress on the property. We painted an entire building (just about), built bunk beds, and some other small things around the property. It was exhausting, waking up at around six and going to bed around eleven. We experienced a lot of cultural differences as well, mainly the food. Jamaica's main dish is Ackee
- a type of fruit - and salt fish. Fish, a lot of fish in the morning, which was hard to get my head around. Fortunately, I went on this same trip last year, and I was prepared for the food because I had experienced it before. Other students did have a hard time. All of their dishes that had either chicken, goat, or beef were full of bones. A luxury that we have here in the US is not having to use every single part of the animal, including the bones. We also have a butcher that we can go to down the road and buy a nice cut of meat. It is not that easy in Jamaica, and the fact that MSC operates solely off of donation makes funds tight.




The residents, whose ages range anywhere from 1 to 28, are all so amazing. It breaks my heart when I think about each of them in their fragile state. Two boys, Romaine and Romar who are twins, were there last year as well. They have the brightest smile, and I loved to simply love on them! We tried to help the staff as much as we could, and I am so impressed at the mountains they conquer. With a total of 37 residents, they have a lot to handle. The aides bathe the residents twice a day, clothe them, feed them, AND they do the laundry, clean the cottages twice a day - end up with urine or other bodily substances on them - and it is all for the love of God that they stick it out. The pay that they receive per month is about 18,000 Jamaican dollars...which in US dollars comes out to roughly $236. Like I said, it is all for the love of our Lord.

Working with MSC was an experience of a lifetime, and I am so happy that I was blessed enough to be able to go. With all of the trips that go out from Waynesburg U, I am sure that there is a trip for everyone.