October 18, 2012

Sand and Sermon

 

This week began like any other week; we woke up to a casual continental style breakfast, packed our things in the vans, and headed off to Grace Church.  After the sermon, we went to eat our picnic lunch in the park nearby. The leaves of the trees in the park that covered the ground were bursting with fall-reds and yellows. Later we spread out in town for our desperate hunt for WIFI. Subway is one of the few “Hot-Spots” and is generally covered with Semester students; the sight reminds me of bees swarming their hive. Each Sunday we close out the day with “movie night”.  

This Sunday’s movie was hard to watch considering the content and the fact that it was an Italian foreign film. (Subtitles never were my thing; if I wanted to read I would grab a book.) Life is Beautiful, is an inspirational film about the life of a young couple and their son during the time of the Second World War. This admirable story of how one loving father gave everything he had to keep the hope of his wife and son alive through all the horrors of the concentration camp is moving to say the least. The movie lasted till about 10 p.m. and after that we had “movie discussion” for about an hour. 

We all at least tried to hit the hay early so that we wouldn’t be completely loopy for our trip to the sand dunes the next morning. However, our efforts were fruitless and most of us ended up taking a nap during the three hour drive there.  When we finally arrived the group gobbled down our sack lunches and then headed off to the Mount Everests of the Sahara. We rented sand boards for our day of fun. Each of us took turns flying down the sides of the enormous dunes, and everyone tumbled down at one point or another. By the end of the day we were dead tired, but mustered what strength was left to make our prized Wal-Mart trip. 

Why was it prized? One, because it is civilization (you might say we are a little deprived) and two, we picked Natali up from her visit home. The dynamics of our community just aren’t the same without everyone present. Tuesday was a highlight for several reasons; It was a busy day that began with a yummy breakfast of crepes, then study time and family meeting, lunch, work crews, dinner, and last but not least small groups. The boy’s small group decided they loved the thought of freezing their tails off so they went camping and had small groups around the campfire. We girls were content to stay inside our warm rooms.

  Once the lights went out, sand was cleaned from our ears, and all toes were thawed, we realized how blessed this week has been.

Carli Hendon, 19

Jasper, AL

Carli was raised in a Christian home and after seeing her older sister be baptized she started asking questions about what it meant to be saved. After talking with her mom, she came to faith at the age of eight. Carli has an interest in education and nursing, and is planning to pursue both. Through trials and tribulation, she has learned to place her trust in the Lord and is willing to follow Him wherever He leads vocationally. Carli also has a heart for mission work, and is also considering this option.

• Posted at 07:56 am by Dustin Jizmejian
• Join the Discussion (2)