First Week of School

This morning's beautiful sunrise.

First off, we'd like to thank everyone so much for the prayers and encouragement we've had. Going off to Bible School was a big thing for Becca and me, but we knew it was going to be a great learning experience, despite the nervousness that comes before doing anything new.

So here we are, a week of classes under our belts, and a post to write about how things are going!

Because we're jumping into the school year halfway through, sharing a dorm room didn't work out. They had to fit us in wherever there was room, but thankfully, we ended up right next door to each other, and each have two very nice roommates. 

It was kind of funny for me, instead of sharing a room with my sister Becca, I now share a room with  two different Rebekahs! It's a popular name here. :)

We have about four classes and a chapel time each morning, with afternoons free to study. 

The library makes a nice, usually quiet, place to study.

Classes include New Testament Survey, Gospel of John, and Doctrine, to name a few. 

Our favorite has been Victorious Christian Living, partly because of the practical, everyday life application, and also for the teacher, an elderly gentleman who has such a vast experience and store of biblical knowledge, and a very fun sense of humor. 

Example from our last class:

"When I see dishes that need to be washed in the sink, I don't go tell my wife to do it. I do what any good husband does...and throw them away."

We also get to sing a song at the start of that class!

While I love Victorious Christian Living, we just had another for the first time today; Christian Women's Practices. I'm really looking forward to the neat lessons that will be in that class, and it may be my new favorite.

While all the classes are going to be great, there is one that Becca and I are not quite so excited over: Introduction to Biblical Communications.

Basically, speech class.

Cue brief moment of panic.

I don't know about you, but speaking in front of a large group of people is not something we particularly like, especially me. 

But why?

Shouldn't it be important to be able to express ourselves clearly, and confidently share with others about the Bible?

While this class won't be the most comfortable, that's not what growing is about. 

As much as the first thought of it scared me, I'm realizing that this is going to be really good for me to learn, and as the teacher of that class shared, our feelings (mainly, shyness) shouldn't be more important then what God wants us to do. 

Shyness can be a form of pride; being too self conscious about what others will think of you, if you make a mistake in front of all those people, etc. 

Speaking in front of others can be used in so many ways, like in witnessing, leading a bible study, giving a testimony. 

I know, as much as I was nervous about this class, I'm going to benefit so much from it.

We've met lots of people, (and can remember about half their names :) ) made some new friends, and are already learning so much in this first week.

Being away from home is hard, but technology makes getting in touch with family as simple as pressing a button.

There's so much to look forward to this semester, and we can't wait to see what God will teach us through this new experience.