A special kind of family.

So Model UN started out with Dr. Thornton testing my French ability by asking me to translate a French article for the class about the death of some Vietnamese military star who died at the age of 102.  That was fun.  He minored in French and can read it no problem, so he could actually tell how good I was doing.  There were only a few places that threw me off, so not too bad for first thing in the morning on the spot.

Then I got to Protestant Reformation!  Which was, duh, the highlight of my day.

One, because everybody in there is absolutely awesome.

Two, I am learning more of the kids' names every day, and more of them are getting to know me.

Three, I am learning SO MUCH, the kind of stuff that just baffles me as someone not used to Theology courses.  It's completely fascinating.

Four, part of the discussion made me cry.  In a good way, of course.  We spent a good bit of the time discussing Calvin's thoughts on God's sovereignty and control over his people versus our free will and how much free will we actually have under a sovereign God.  Dr. Jonas was just on point today.  He said something really beautiful, which I actually had to clarify that it was his own thought instead of Calvin's it was that good, "God's Providence is behind all, responsible but not determining."  And I don't remember exactly what was said or who said what, but basically the discussion boiled down to the idea that God doesn't make bad things happen, but he allows bad things to happen because He will make something GREAT out of them.  I could barely choke back tears as I said, "I can tell you that from experience."  Talk about God using people to speak to you, all of that hit me straight in the heart.

Then after class, I ended up walking back towards the dining hall/my dorm with James, and we got to talking a bit.  I walked into Shouse to get lunch and ended up seeing two of the other guys from class, Jonathan and Jayshawn, and had lunch with them and a few of their friends.  Jayshawn had me cracking up most of lunch, and I had some great discussions with Jonathan and a friend of his (whose name escapes me at the moment).  As it turns out, Bryce and Chris aren't the only ones in this class that like me. :)  I was telling Paige about it later today, and she said, "I feel like you've been adopted into a gang, but a friendly religious gang."  That was hilarious, but fairly accurate.  We are a family, the special kind of family that I've only seen form at this amazing university.

Joining this class was, hands down, the smartest thing I've done on this campus.  God is good like that.

Tomorrow, a day full of Campbell sports.  Going to cheer on the football team and my friend Matt at 1:00, and then trying to work my "good luck charm" powers for Bryce and the soccer team at 7:00.  Considering how many cough drops I'm sucking down tonight, I have a feeling I'm going to be completely hoarse by the end of tomorrow, but it's totally worth it.  I love my school.

Campbell proud!