It’s hard to believe that it was 4 years ago I wrote a journal entry (not on here) in which I kept track by the hour the Bush election.

At the risk of sounding cliche and redundant (xD) we are witnessing history in the making with our first black president.

It was bound to happen. I think it’s cool that I was alive to witness it. =) Either him or we would have had our first female vice president. I couldn’t have picked a better year to be old enough to vote. =P

So I’m not going to talk about elections too much. I find that it doesn’t really matter what I think, I’m just interested to see now what will happen. How much of what Obama says will come true? I’m just honestly curious.

In other news, I’m excited that Christmas is on its way. Operation Christmas Child has begun and I used my tithe to buy a bunch of fun things. Lauren, Caroline, and I are going to send out two boxes this time— one for a boy and one for a girl.

I got some fun things to put in them. For the boy: matchbox cars, a squishy incredible hulk ball, some bouncy balls, soap (fun fun), a blue washcloth, a toy dinosaur…among other things. For the girl: A baby doll (I always have one of those…you can’t beat them), bouncy balls, a couple different styles of girly hair ties, a pink washcloth, soap, a hairbrush/comb…and some other things. Caroline picked up some crayons and little notebooks and Lauren got some toothbrushes and toothpaste. We need some more things but I think I’ve done my part for both.

I don’t know…it’s just exciting to know that a child in a far away country will receive the things I buy for them as a Christmas present. The children are only allowed to have one box from Operation Christmas Child in their lives so it’s something that they will always remember. I wish I could be there someday to see the child’s face. I wish I could see the little girl that opens the box and finds the baby doll inside and cradles it against her. I wish I could see the little boy that will play with the matchbox cars and create something like a movie car chase with his hands.

Sunday before last, Lauren, Caroline, Erik, and I went to the Belfast Free Methodist church. There’s just something so comforting about being back in a tiny church. My home church, Vorea Community, isn’t anywhere near as small as Belfast Methodist and honestly I kind of like it that way. Belfast Methodist had about 50 people there all together that I counted. Vorea has maybe twice that much. It’s not too big. The one thing about a church as small as Belfast is that EVERYBODY wants to know you and everybody notices when you come to visit. It seems like such a big deal…and even if they don’t mean it, it always forces this expectation on you– like you’ll come back.

The people were very nice there though. I put a prayer concern into the offering plate and later got an email from someone in the church telling me that they would pray about my request at their next prayer meeting. It was very nice of them and it did make me smile and add a little bit of something to my day. It always helps to know someone is thinking about you and praying for you.

I almost feel bad though when I don’t go back to the churches I visit. They know we’re college students from Houghton and they know that there’s a chance of us coming back. So they try to make a good impression.

Maybe if I was driver I would, but at the moment it’s just easier to go to Houghton Wesleyan– despite the fact that I’m not a huge fan of the size of the church. It’s a little too big for me. I don’t get to know anybody there really because there are far too many people. I don’t understand how people attending mega churches can feel the same sense of fellowship that you get when you worship with people you actually know. I would just feel so alone always standing next to people I don’t know in church. That’s sometimes how it is at Houghton Wesleyan.

It’s times like this when I’m sitting here and thinking that I really begin to miss my church family back home.

So anyway, in other news, we were supposed to host some prospective students last night but they never showed up. Today is the biggest prospective student day of the year and both of ours just decided to opt out last minute. We were very sad because we were hoping we could have our chance as promoting the school and talking to some awesome kids in the process. =(

In OTHER other news, Jeremy is moving to Arizona sometime in the next few weeks. =)

We had been trying to find other options for him, but honestly the allure of the job ($50,000 starting point with benefits) was too much to turn down. Jeremy is really in need of a stable job, not only for his benefit but also for mine and for whatever kind of a future we would ever want to have. Yes, I’m kind of putting a lot of hope into this but I really think this time it may work out. =) Please keep Jeremy and everything in your prayers!