"A Big Day" ~ Hiking Trip with Brookhaven Youth

Thursday through Saturday (March 24-26) I went on a hiking/camping trip with my youth group. We drove 475 miles to southern Indiana to O'Bannon Woods State Park. There were 30 of us and we had one awesome time. Thursday night we ate elk over the fire (yum) for dinner followed by smores. Instead of the traditional graham & chocolate I used Chips Ahoy cookies (double yum!).  Then the youth played Sardines and Capture the Flag while us old folk (adults) sat by the fire to stay warm :) We had deep, theological discussions about Christianity (or the lack thereof) around the world, the end times, and the Israelites in the desert. When we went to sleep the junior highers were still talking up a storm in their tent, so someone kindly threatened them with "If you don't shut up I'm going to put rocks in your backpacks for the hike tomorrow!" Haha, that got them, then we slept semi-peacefully :) Did I mention that this weekend the temp was in the 30's? Thank you Jesus for warm layers of clothes, super thick sleeping-bags, and tent-buddies to cuddle with.

Friday we started our hike around 10 after a tasty breakfast cooked over the fire. We did a total of 12.5 miles that day. When we reached our campsite there was just enough time to find a tree to pee on and cook dinner before sundown. Saturday we did 6 miles.  I should tell you that I was apprehensive about going on this hike, mainly because it was freezing and I have the knees of an 80 year old woman. However, I had so-much-fun! Some of the hills were near death experiences. I would say down-hill is easier than up-hill, but many of my comrades would disagree. A couple of people took some pretty funny falls - I can only say that because no one was seriously injured. Pastor Tony's brother (Larry) kept saying "What don't kill ya will only make ya stronger" or "The good thing is that you'll feel better when it doesn't hurt anymore." He's rather sarcastic and not sympathetic at all, haha. But, I'm proud of myself that I was never in the back section; most of the time I was leading the middle :) We also spent some time doing "community service" and clearing the path of fallen trees and large sticks. When stopped for lunch along the way I guzzled "5 Hour Energy" for maximum boost :)

I had a great time hiking alongside the youth and spending time talking with them as we went along. I got to know some of them better, which is always a blessing. I love them so much and I'm so glad that I went. I won't get to do many more youth activities like this since I won't be around here after graduation, so I really try to make the most of every opportunity. They all mean so much to me and I'm so proud of the women and men of Christ they are becoming. Also, did I mention the woods were gorgeous this time of year!

Lessons learned:
Easier is never better
Short cuts are not worth it in the end.
Stopping to take a break and rest is best when you do it in the company of friends.
Take time to enjoy your surroundings (sights, sounds, smells) to make the time truly worth it.
Let others' joy be contagious; let your joy be contagious to others.
In the end, you will remember the good times more than the bad.

Roberts Wesleyan College

I spent Monday-Tuesday-Wednesday of my spring break visiting Roberts Wesleyan College (RWC or Roberts), which really means to say Monday/Wednesday were travel days and Tuesday was the only visit day. Nonetheless, I learned what I wanted to learn, saw what I wanted to see, met who I wanted to meet, and did what I wanted to do. Here's just a tidbit about this new journey I'll be taking soon. Roberts Wesleyan College is located in Rochester, New York. It's more town than city and you can read in my previous post about my apartment there.

I am graduating with my Bachelors in Social Work from IWU on April 30th. I'm going to RWC for my Masters of Social Work. I was accepted into the Advanced Standing program (because I'm awesome), which means I'll graduate with my Masters in only 10 months instead of the traditional 2 year program. I take an online class this June, summer classes (2) in July/August, then the semester starts. It will be a total of 38 credits/units. While I'm there I'll be doing a 500 hour practicum - at a "yet-to-be-determined" agency. My specialization will be Child & Family. The Field Work (practicum) Liaison will make 3 referrals to agencies with my resume. I then call them to arrange phone interviews, talk about job descriptions, and then I ultimately get to chose at which agency I want to work (for free). The ones she talked to me about are school social work, center for Burmese refugees, and a place for homeless women and their families. When I get my placement I'll let you know ;)

Anyways, I was super excited with my visit. I loved the campus and everyone I met. They were all so sincere and nice. Everyone went out of their way to make me feel welcome. I didn't feel as if I was intruding on anyone - they all seemed to truly enjoy what they do and were just as excited for my visit as I was. I took a tour of the campus, met with the Field Work Liaison, Admissions Director (who is also my landlord), Financial Aid (as if there's such a thing), and the Prof for my online class. I also made arrangements for registration. The only disappointment was our hotel didn't have a pool or hot-tub, haha :)

Here are some pics from my tour:

Carpenter Hall - Social Work :)

Carpenter Hall from another angle

Heading towards the library

B. Thomas Golisano Library

This is the newest building on campus - built in 2007

The library was my favorite building on campus.

There is a study area just for grad students and a computer lab open 24/7

(Library) Study area in the library outside the coffee shop

A pretty open layout with lots of study areas.

There are also rooms for group meetings.

Soccer fields and track :)

Rinker Community Center - 

Financial Aid, Presidential people, Human Resources, Registration, etc

Cox Hall - music

Northeastern Seminary

Northeastern Seminary from another angle

Anderson Hall - one of six dorms

Quite the contrast to IWU housing :/ haha

For when I get lost... haha

Just a couple random snapshots of the yucky snow

I didn't get pictures of the cafeteria (Garlock Dining Commons), but when I asked my tour guide about the food she said "It could be worse."I also didn't get one of Voller Athletic Center, which was really neat. The bookstore is there along with a cafe. They had a 25-yard swimming pool, two weight rooms (free weights and cardio equipment), racquetball, and a huge gym/track. Oh, and they have 2 saunas :) How awesome is that!

I like it, I'm excited to go there!

The Apartment

During my visit to Robert's Wesleyan College (Rochester, New York) over SPRING BREAK I spent the day Tuesday with Jim Sheets, the graduate social work admissions director. This was my third time meeting with him. He's the reason I was interested in the school to start with. You can see him standing on the front porch below. Anyways, he has a house he rents out to MSW students from out of state. Everyone currently in the house graduates in May. We went to visit the place and I decided I liked loved it enough to live there. I'm the first one to put "dibbs" in so I got to pick my room.

The house is 3 minutes away from the school. The school is in Rochester but the house address is Churchville. It's in a quaint, little homey-town. There aren't many chains stores, so everything is the personal "Mom & Pop" kinda stuff. I get the feeling that everyone knows their neighbors. In Rochester, 55% of those 25 years+ have at least a Bachelors degree, so I'm assuming it's at least high middle-class living. Pretty much all the houses are big (2 stories) and old. This My house was built in the 1800's. It has it's own drive and enough parking in the back for everyone. There's a nice front porch and a small back patio. All the floors are wooden except the kitchen, family room, and maybe the laundry room. I don't really know what else to say about it. It's very reasonably priced and fully furnished, which means I only have to take my personal belongings (as if I was moving in to a dorm). High speed internet and cable are included... I've never had cable at college so that's super exciting!

There will be 5 of us living here. Two girls downstairs share a bedroom suite with its own bathroom. Three of us will have our own rooms upstairs with one bathroom, though after 5 of us sharing one bathroom last year that will be more than manageable. I'm the first one in but when others put their names in Jim will send us each other's contact info so we can become best buds before we move in :) I didn't take pictures of the other bedrooms, you'll just have to believe me that mine's the best!

This is just a quick little tour of the place.

Outside

Kitchen - fully furnished with 2 refrigerators. Little dinette under the window

Dining room -  through the back you can see the living room.

Living room in the far back - 2 full couches and 2 chairs - windows to our backyard

Two pictures of my room - first at the top of the stairs.
The personal items you see are whoever lives there now, but the furniture stays.

I really liked the horizontal dresser (left of bottom pic) and tall wooden bookcase.

It has a twin-sized bed and three windows. 

It definitely has the smallest closet of all the rooms, but that's okay because I don't need much.

Bathroom - just outside my room

Hallway - looking out from the bathroom. These are 2 more bedrooms.
I'm really excited, much more excited than I thought I would be. It feels much better seeing where I'll live and go to school for 10 months, and I met so many wonderful people there (the school). Though I'm sure nerves will kick in later. For the past four years I've only been living 10 minutes away from home... 10 minutes to 9 hours is a big jump, but I think I'm ready. Living with four other strangers will be different because Jewel's always been around up-until now. I'm sure we'll become friends fast, we've at least got a passion for helping people in common. Once I'm actually moved in (middle of July) I'll repost personalized pictures :)