The first thing most of you will notice about this post is its belatedness. Don't judge me, please. I've gotten emails from several of you saying that you miss me writing to you and you wish that I'd drop in every now and then for a word. If it's any comfort at all, I've hardly been able to spend time with myself, let alone other people. I took 20.5 credits this quarter while working 10 hours a week, and ironically enough, test week gives me more time to sit down and do this than I ever had during a week of instruction. I apologize for getting out of contact, and will try to do better next quarter.One of my new responsibilities this quarter is working in the Heritage Room at the Library. I have enjoyed this new opportunity immensely, working with the delightfully old documents with names like Noah Paulin and Irwin scribbled across them. There really are some buried treasures in that room. I have had the pleasure of working with my long-time friend Fallon in there. Thanks to our work, we have become better friends than we ever were in high school. Another new responsibility is my internship at Yountville SDA church (aka Signs Memorial Church), under the leadership of Pastor Sam Alexander. I've been working with the youth there and learning about fun things like offering calls, scripture reading, and Adventurer clubs. Next quarter, I'll get to preach there (on an undisclosed day; I'm nervous enough without all of you being there), and it has been a great learning experience overall.
All of this work doesn't mean I haven't stopped to have fun once in a while, though. After celebrating the third annual Justin Day by sneaking a hot drink into Colloquy (no carpet was harmed in the process of this celebration), the Religion Department packed its bags and headed to Albion. I had forgotten what a beautiful place Albion was, and there had been vast improvements made since I'd last seen it. It was a welcome reprieve from my heavy academic load, and I listened to Brad Gienger's talk on God's ability to use our weaknesses with great interest. A group of us theology majors stood by the fire, talking into night about all the dreams we had for ministry, our favorite Bible verses, and what we want to do in Heaven most. It was, in short, great bonding time for the department.
On Sabbath morning, we had the annual Bible bowl. This may sound like a very elementary game, but among Theology majors, it is fierce competition. The teachers don't participate as a rule, not because it would be an uneven playing field, but because, as Dr. Ranzolin says, "We'd be embarrassed to show how badly we'd do on it." Personally, I think the teachers know their stuff, but I could feel my own rustiness on general Bible knowledge as we played the game. My team, named 3ABN as an inside Adventist joke, came in second place, which is fairly decent, considering the stiff competition.
After lunch, I went out on the river on the field station's new "party boat," which could theoretically accomodate up to 10 people. Dr. Muth, the current caretaker of Albion Field Station, wanted to test it out on adult-sized people before the college board came to visit the following week. It was good that he did, because we discovered that if too many people stood in the front of the boat, it took on massive amounts of water. We had to carefully distribute our weight to keep it balanced. We all had a great time, though, and that just added to the excitement.
I spent the rest of the afternoon preparing for vespers, because I had the homily for it. Naturally, I was a bit nerve-wracked with my professors there, but I feel like I did a decent job. I spoke on personal devotions, an issue I've been struggling with this quarter because of how little time my academic schedule leaves for it. Without it, though, my academics are kind of useless. So, I was speaking as much for my own benefit as anyone else's, and judging by the comments I received afterwards, it struck a cord with quite a few of the busy people there.
The evening was spent in fun and games, especially many round of Mafia. Mafia is a bit of a Religion Department Retreat tradition, as it's a great way of just enjoying each other's company. Another popular game is Angel Hernandez's favorite, "Elefante." It's a bit of a variation of King Elephant, but not quite the same. I relished the socialization, knowing I'd be returning to my academic solitude the following day. We took our time on our way back up the coast, stopping at Navarro for some of their excellent grape juice.
I spent the afternoon studying, but gave up and went to a Dramatic Arts Society-sponsored production of Lyrics on Lockdown. This work generated a lot of controversy on campus, despite a disclaimer at the beginning by Mei Ann Tao. Despite its controversial bits, I was impressed at the vivid storytelling, the moving graphics, and the sheer poetry of this man's tale of being arrested without cause. It gave me food for thought for my classes.
So, there's a snapshot of one weekend this quarter. Over this next week, I will try to catch up to the present. I wish everyone good luck on their finals, and a very happy holiday.
