My trip to BJU(with pictures!!!)

First of all
I was really
really
nervous.

I was sick most of the ride.

Not lack of trust nervous
just anticipatory, being around a lot of other teens(many of whom were Very Loud Boys)
I'm a long way from my house, what if I get sick on this bus??? I will look bad if I fall asleep
kind of nervous.
Also at one point we played a 'game' in which we had to switch seats. I almost broke down. Thankfully I made it back to mom without mishap(and yes I know I sound like a two year old, i know ok?? I was S.T.R.E.S.S.E.D.)

leaving maine!!

i honestly don't know(or want to know) what this sign was trying to imply. very unnerving.

in the bus.

glamour shot of the bus:)

Thankfully no mishaps occurred(though I did almost get sick once) and we arrived after 6 hours in a truck and 18 hours in the aforementioned bus. (We were able to spend the night in Conn. before getting on the bus. A lady (from the church where the bus was picking us up)kindly let my mom and I use her family's missionary apartment.) When we got there a nice girl with red hair helped me find my room. The girls from my dorm were all outside having a little singspiration- all their voices in the night air, singing familiar hymns, was beautiful and comforting, and a wonderful first impression.

door to my dorm, with a nice little welcome sign...( i didn't actually take this when i arrived)

dorm

I made it to my dorm, met my room mates, got ready for bed and fell promptly asleep. For your reference- girls in dorms area little loud(not as bad as boys on buses) and somewhat silly.

But I was tired enough that I fell asleep anyways.

In the morning I woke up quite early. I showered and got ready and then decided to head to breakfast a little early so I could take a leisurely walk across campus.

my residence hall- Margaret Mack

along my walk...

mural of 'the last supper' on the fine arts building.

walking...

at the bridge of nations

May I just say- the campus at BJU is beautiful. Especially at 7:30 in the morning. The buildings are all yellow brick, and not garish yellow but rather a warm, Mediterranean, ochre color. Well groomed lawns, verdant trees and bushes and the occasional nicely dressed student completed the picture. The fresh morning breeze calmed my nerves slightly.

 I found the welcome center, but since I was really early no one else was there. So I went outside to wait for mom. I sat in front of the bridge of nations, watching the fountains and writing in a diary I kept for two entries. Mom didn't appear so I eventually went back inside. Several people came to chat with me, so I wasn't standing awkwardly waiting for mi madre. She did arrive after a while... she had gone to my dorm to get me and had since been waiting while I was across campus waiting for her. She was worried. I felt bad.

 We ate a bite of breakfast(mini cinnamon bunssss) then we went to a welcome presentation. The video we were shown was incredible- great cinematography and computer animation. Then we took a tour of the campus. Our tour guy had red hair and generally acted a lot like my younger brother(i.e. he talked a lot and about many and sundry things). That was comforting, as to be honest I was a little homesick.

I have to say everything was in such a blur that I can't completely remember everything, esp. not in order. Over the course of two days, I:

sat in on the Drama in Singing class(I got to have a mini concert as the class was performing art songs,one of which was The K'e- its a beautiful song.)

Ate every meal in the dining common(I thought the food was great! Not too fast foody.)

dining common

attended chapel(which was being led that day by students, but it was great anyways!)

in the lobby of the chapel building

coming out of chapel

visited the Museum and Gallery(if you ever have the chance to visit it- DO SO. One of the finest art collections in the world- according to others, it's the only one I've personally been to. Even the furniture is antique. I couldn't take pictures but trust me on this. We went back again the next day and I bought postcards, which I'll try to post...someday.)

Spent a great deal of time in the fine arts building

bust of Giuseppe Verdi in the fine arts lobby.

Was able to talk to the head of the voice department and sing for her. She was encouraging and gave me a name so I may FINALLY be able to actually start pursuing some voice lessons!

went to Missions advance(a missions prayer/presentation group)on Thurs. and a presentation on missions in France on Fri.

visited the library(fun fact:it's the same size as the library at Alexandria, according to David the tour guide. Now don't talk to me about the library at Alexandria.)

me in the library(the only time mom took pictures of me, looking like a total nerd)
also I found this really interesting book on Hitler and the doctor who influenced his mental health or lack thereof... that was a good book. I want to finish it really bad.

and finally we were able to meet with:

 a.our pastors daughter 

and b. The Lewis Carl family, former missionaries to Venice(I mentioned him before, as a note on one or two chapters of the intro story. Which I really should name by the way.) 

We were able to see his wife and kids for the first time in a while, they were unable to come when he was here in the spring for our church's missions conference. He is a real encouragement to me I must say- first of all he's a fellow artist so he understands from that point of view, and he shares Ryn and my burden for Italy.(In case you haven't been able to tell by previous posts, or if you're a new reader- we are a little obsessed:) He loves it at much as we do, and he's actually been there, he's been serving in Italy for I think 15 years. He misses it:( He has a true heart for God and His Will, even though he can't be in Italy, and it's just a blessing to see and hear as he talks.

 After we saw the family, he showed us around the arts building. We left to go do other things, such as meet my admissions counselor. Then he met us again to introduce us to Vicenzo Antignani, a science professor from Naples! We sat and talked about Italy for a while and Mr. Antignani made us real Italian espresso! (It was very strong and I didn't get through my whole cup. But it was good!) That was a blessing as well and very fun. After that we went back to his office and talked a little more, Mr. Carl showed me his Italian Bible-it was so fun reading familiar words but in Italian! I want to get my own copy.

I stayed in Mom's apartment the last night instead of the dorm, we agreed it would be easiest to get ready in the morning that way. In the middle of the night someone called the fire department, which kept us awake for some time(apparently there was flames and smoke coming from their bathroom fan. IDK.)

And at 5 the next morning got back on the bus. The ride back wasn't as bad since I knew what to expect. We stayed the night in Conn. then headed out early Sunday morning and were back in time to make it to the evening service. I'm honestly still not caught up on sleep- we had special meetings all the next week and have been generally super busy. Also I stay up too late.

mcdonalds coco has a ton of whipped cream and chocolate syrup- to disguise the fact that it tastes like chocolate scented cardboard. Yuck. Don't buy it.

I think the trip taught me a few things- I was thinking on the bus, our walk with God is sort of similar to riding a bus. We choose to get on the bus and know where the final destination is, but in between times we have to trust the bus driver to get us there, with the right stops and on the right roads .

It helped further cement my realization that a life lived with in God's moral law cannot then be outside his will. I'm going to eventually do a full post on this at my other blog, Ponderous Thoughts. And that anything we do, as long as we aren't violating His commands or our conscience, becomes our ministry. That's why he's gifted us all different- so we can serve him in diverse ways and touch all people, not just a certain group.

And also, I think BJU is probably the college for me. It has a high level of academic and artistic excellence and an incredible Christ-centered mentality. Every thing you do and everywhere you go, God is there. There are Bible verses posted all over(over the drinking fountains and even in the bathroom stalls!) and missionary cards on the dining hall tables, just to name a few small ways. You can feel a Godly spirit pervading everyone. Of course there were a few people who didn't act quite as well as others, but overall I was amazed by the truly Godly atmosphere. And I was thankful to be able to specifically focus on my three main interests- singing, art, and missions.

So anyways, that's that for now. I'm sure I'm forgetting somethings, but this is a good overview. Thank you all for your prayers and for reading! I'll be at more regular posts soon, such as a tag I've been...well, tagged in, and more! I;m super busy lately but I really want to post so I should get to it.
God bless!

did I mention it rained most of the time? I didn't expect to be cold, it's supposed to be balmy down south! My hair was very curly indeed.

selfie time before getting on the bus

and on the bus