As much as I love Autumn, I also have a very special place in my heart for Summer. And my love of vitamin D and flip flop tans is not always easily relinquished to the deliciousness of apple cider and pumpkin pie. Usually though, the transition is made acceptable by the fact that it generally takes up to a month to slowly move from 80 degree days to long jeans and sweaters. Not in Pennsylvania though. In Pennsylvania, you're sitting out by the pool enjoying sweet tea, when some guy dressed up as a jack-o-lantern comes along and smacks you across the face and by the time you come to the leaves are red and the apples are jumping off the trees and pneumonia is quickly creeping in. All this is to say that aside from the particularly chilly evenings this past week, living here has been swell. I'm within a 7 mile radius of at least 3 incredible farms which i pay a visit to every week at the downtown farmers market. And I've made enough apple butter to last me at least through the next 6 months. Which, considering my love for all things apple, is really saying something.
The past few weeks have been incredibly rewarding both on and off campus. I've begun regularly meeting with 4 freshman girls and may be adding another this week. Every other week I also meet with 5 junior girls who are student leaders in the Navs. Getting to know the girls has been simultaneously awesome and uniquely challenging. Thus far I have been very blessed to get to meet with girls who I essentially clicked with instantaneously. However, I always live in a little bit of fear that I'm going to either forget something crucial that they've told me, or mix it up with something someone else said. So far so good though, in that area. I've been praying that somehow something I stumble over in our times together will be useful to them in some way. I have an urgent desire to know them and to help them take leaps in their faith, without being incredibly pushy. Some might call this patience. I call it trying to look normal while constantly holding my hand over my mouth to keep from spilling a gut-load of "advice-speak" all over them. Thus far, no one has mistaken me for an escapee from a psych-ward. Mostly, I've just been practicing building relationships.
And now comes the required paragraph explaining my blog title. This past Saturday, the PSU navs held one of their most entertaining and most memorable fall events. It also takes the cake for the "most like a hoe down" event that I have ever attended. Essentially, what we had was a fall festival, entirely contained in a beautifully finished old tobacco barn on a gorgeous piece of farm land in the middle of No Where, Pennsylvania. This event was complete with carnival games, a chili cook-off, hay bale toss, and finished with two hours of square dancing. Yes, real square dancing, with a caller and everything. I've never had so much fun standing geometrically in my life. Here's a picture of myself and some of the other PSU student attendees, in case my description of the whole thing wasn't enough proof that it actually happened:
Clearly, themed attire was a major part of the night (as it should be pretty much always). We estimate that there were about 200 in attendance, and from the initial polls, every one of 'em seemed to enjoy themselves. Success.
Coming up? More themed parties and events, (I believe there's a bilbo baggins birthday bash in the works...) our annual Fall retreat, and a whole slew of college student shenanigans. Shout outs to all those who came to visit in the past few weeks. Seeing you has been incredibly refreshing for me on a number of levels. And for those of you who haven't made your way up here yet... you are missing out on some seriously good apple butter.
God bless ya'll real good!
