Last Friday Darren and I got to spend 11 hours on Grace's campus. We went so that he could interview for his chance to get any of the 12 scholarships available. When we left home at 7:30 that morning (Thanks, Laura and Carmen for watching our kids, btw!), I thought that we were going there for the sole purpose of getting some cash for school and getting a taste of Grace. [This is the part where God gets a good laugh in]
Wow. Friday was SO much more than I expected! I got to meet some of Darren's future classmates. My first impressions were pretty hilarious as I later looked back on them. Each has a sincere heart and a desire to serve God in the way that He has called them. Among them is a young, energetic, extensively tatted, bubbly woman that wants to go to, "Oh, Europe or Asia" to worship and do missions through artwork. Another woman, who at first I thought was too uptight for my taste, is currently serving in the Army and has a goal of chaplaincy. We also met a man who had just moved his whole young family from Utah to learn under the professors at Grace! We only spent a few hours with all of them, but I feel a special bond with each- I hope to see them often!
Once each student interviewed for the scholarships, we had a full day of campus tour, meetings with area pastors, lunch with current students, and even attending a class (in which Darren had a mighty tough time keeping his hand down and his mouth shut....though the prof DID get D's enthusiastic 2 cents after class :) )
I'll just hit the highlights. First and foremost the biggest miracle that I felt was that I was able to be open. I am an introvert through and through. I would not be totally miffed if I couldn't interact with people for a few days or so; I don't mind being alone and I certainly don't mind just hanging out by the wall in a crowd and simply watching. However, on Friday I was the one leading conversations, asking questions, and meeting all kinds of new people. I'm telling you, that's a miracle! I never felt the twinge of insecurity or the desire to shrink back. Because of this, many things blossomed that I never would have seen or experienced otherwise.
A few days before this event, I had emailed the president of SWIFT (Seminary Wives in Fellowship and Training (I know, I know. You don't have to tell me. I'll probably have lots of posts about SWIFT adventures and mis-adventures later.)) and asked her about babysitting options, because at that point I hadn't found someone to cover the whole day with my girls. I actually got to meet her during that day, and not only that but she gave me a private tour around "The Island" (A part of the town of Winona Lake that is set a bit into Winona Lake by a small canal) and she told me the ins and outs of the community. That is SO valuable to know! I also randomly struck up a conversation with a current seminary student's wife at lunch and she asked me if we needed a house to move into this summer! OH MY WORD!!! Less than 2 hours earlier I had called a realtor about a place that Darren and I had fallen in love with, only to be told it had been rented out LAST WEEK! Deb (the president of SWIFT) drove me to the house and even gave me details of the layout of the house and where our higher costs were going to come into play (apparently we'll be investing in space heaters if we end up renting this place).
Everyone we met cared about us as Christians. They knew we were there because we were going to be coming to Grace, but they wanted to get to know us beyond that. It was nice.
At the end of the night we spent some time over dinner at a table with two area pastors and their wives. It was so fun to get to know their stories, too! They are both in the same stage of life as Darren and I...I don't think Tal-Mal and Squeak are going to be want for friends! Such an answer to prayer!
To wrap this up in a complete non-corny way....our day at Grace was full of Grace. As is our God, Whose love and compassion shines brilliantly through all of the staff and students at Grace College. I should have expected no less. We are blown away beyond any of our expectations or even hopes. God is big, we are tiny. And BOY are we gonna need to hang on tight with both hands during this ride- I have a feeling that it's gonna be a crazy roller-coaster of joys, trials and plenty of stretching and learning.
PS. Winona Lake is a resort town. Y'all have no excuse not to visit. I expect calls starting this fall.
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